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FROM THE LIBRARY OF REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON. D. D.
BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO
THE LIBRARY OF
PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
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THE
LIFE AND LABORS
REV. T. H. GALLAUDET, LL. D.
BY
REV. HEMAN HUMPHREY, D.D.
NEW YORK:
ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS.
NO. 530 BROADWAY.
1857.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S57, by
EOBEET CAETEE & BROTHERS,
In tbe Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the
Southern District of New York.
DWARD 0. JENKINS,
printer anti Strreotgper, 26 Frankfort St..
TO
MRS. SOPHIA GALLAUDET, AND HER CHILDREN,
£I)i$ Doluinc
S RESPECTFULLY
DettfcateU.
PREFACE
In preparing this volume for the press, the Editor has been permitted to avail himself of all the mate- rials within reach, whether in manuscript or in print. He claims nothing beyond having, in the humble task of compiler, exercised his best judgment in the selec- tion and arrangement of the matter furnished to his hand. What the friends and the public, to whom the Rev. Thomas H. Gallaudet was so extensively known, want, is a true portrait of the man as he was : a faithful sketch of his life and labors ; of his eminent services in the cause of education, especially in the new department of deaf mute instruction, which he inaugurated and carried to higher perfection in his own school than it had attained, even in the Parisian Asylum to which he was indebted for his own edu- cation in the language of signs.
Such a sketch could not be given without a free latitude of selection, as well from his occasional dis- courses and rich contributions to the educational press, as from his extensive private correspondence. To have withheld the best occasional and professional productions of his prolific pen, because so many of
M
VI PEEFACE.
them were already in print, would have been doing great injustice to the subject of this Memoir. Most of what has been arrested was floating down upon the stream of fugitive contributions, and the Editor is quite sure that the readers of the present volume will rather thank than blame him for this free use of quo- tations and gleanings.
The Editor has elsewhere expressed his special in- debtedness to Mr. Barnard's eloquent Tribute ; and in making selections from what has been published in one form or another, he has been mainly indebted to the matter bound up in the same volume. Most of the other obligations will be found duly acknowl- edged; and if there have been any omissions, it is hoped they will be excused by whomsoever they may concern. The Editor has had no ambition to make himself prominent in this memorial of his friend and class-mate. His endeavor has been to hold up one of the distinguished and most active philanthropists of his time, as an example worthy of imitation, by the whole class of educated young men as they come upon the stage. Would that each, like Thomas H. Gallaudet, could be persuaded to ask, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? " and have grace and ability to "serve God and his generation" with equal fidelity and success.
Pittsfield, Mass., Sept. 1, 1857.
CONTENTS
Intbodttotion,
i art |irst.
CHAPTER I.
His Birth — A Reverie — He enters College — Graduates— Studies Law — Con- version— Enters the Ministry, IT
CHAPTER II.
Alice Cogswell — Deaf Mutes in Connecticut — An Association Formed — Mr. Gallaudet Called — Sent Abroad — Letter to Alice Cogswell — He Embarks — Letter to Mr. "Woodbridge — Mr. Gallaudet in London — In Edinburgh- Letters, 27
CHAPTER III.
Mr. Gallaudet leaves for Paris— Abbe Sicard— Laurent Clerc — His Statement
— Return — Letters, 70
CHAPTER IV.
The Asylum Incorporated — Opened — Introductory Discourse — Dedicated — Discourse — Progress of the Asylum — Sermon — Essay on Sign Language — Address— Reminiscences — Anecdotes— Articulation— Letter to Hon. H. Mann, 100
art Su0tt&.
CHAPTER I.
Mr. Gallaudet leaves the Asylum— Applied to by the American Colonization Society — Education of Colored Persons — Abduhl Eahhaman — Asylum for the Blind— New York University — Various Applications — Education
of Infants, 217
[vii]
VTU CONTENTS.
CHAPTER II.
Educational Books — American Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge —Letters— The Bible in Colleges— A Plea for Science— Mr. Gallaudet a Poet — Poems— Letters to his Family,
fart %\ixi.
CHAPTER I.
Insane Hospital at "Worcester — Correspondence — Eetreat for the Insane, Hart- ford—Mr. Gallaudet Engaged as Chaplain — Extracts from his Diary — His own Account of his Labors— Presentation of Plate to Messrs. Gallaudet and Clerc,
CHAPTER II. His Health Fails— His Death— Public Exercises,
CHAPTER III .
" Gallaudet Monument Association "—Description of the Monument — Its In- auguration— Mr. Gallaudet's Character and Genius — Commemorative Discourse, by Hon. H. Barnard — Testimony of Kev. H. Hooker— Dr. Peet— "The Christian Examiner "—Dr. Butler— Dr. E. K Hunt, . . 394
INTRODUCTION.
When a good man dies, his family suffers an irre^ parable loss. And if he hath been a good Samaritan in his day ; if he hath stretched out his hands to the needy ; if he hath given to the poor ; if he hath visited the widows and the fatherless in their afflictions, you will find them among the sincerest mourners at his funeral. Still greater is the loss, when a burning and shining light in the Church is extinguished, or when a man, who in any other public capacity has "served God and his generation" with eminent devotedness, ability, and usefulness, ceases from his earthly labor, and enters into rest.
But how much greater would the loss be, if none of the good which such men do lived after them. How wise and beneficent are those providential sequences, which conspire to fulfill the promise, that "the righte- ous shall be had in everlasting remembrance." How many have been cheered on their toilsome pilgrimage,
1* [9J
10 INTRODUCTION.
by following the faith and patience of those who inherit the promises ! and how much richer the super- added legacy, when those who have been eminent public benefactors, leave behind them the fruits of their studies and acquisitions in printed books or unpublished manuscripts ! When they are gone they should be embalmed in fitting memorials of " what manner of men they were," by handing down the ripest fruits of their "labors" to "the generations fol- lowing."
What an irreparable loss it would have been to the Church and the world, if such men as Bunyan, and Baxter, and Howe, and Leighton, and Howard, and Wilberforce, and Edwards, and Chalmers, and D wight, had been taken final leave of at the grave's mouth, and none of their writings had come down to us. Much as they accomplished in their lifetime, some of them at least, perhaps all, have done, are doing, and will do vastly more good by what they have left behind for our instruction and encouragement, than it was possi- ble for them to accomplish by their personal labors.
And though but few of these "greater lights" shine upon the ages as they roll, not a few large-hearted philanthropists and public benefactors depart from the stage every year, whose lives and labors are a sort of public legacy, which it would be wrong to withhold from those who survive them.
Moreover, in reading the lives of those men who
INTRODUCTION. 11
have been most eminently useful in their times, we can hardly fail of being struck with the great diver- sity of their talents, positions, and educational training, fitting them for the work which they had to do. And yet, how few readers of their works and memoirs give themselves the trouble to inquire, whence and for what high ends these remarkable diversities of talent and preferences were bestowed.
To say that Grod never intended in any age or coun- try to make all men alike, to bestow the same apti- tude and endowments upon all who he intends shall serve him and bless the world in their generations, would be quite idle. Nobody believes that he did. It would be a palpable impeachment of his wisdom and benevolence. Without such diversities as every- where exist, the complicated machinery of human society must stop at once. It would be deranged, dis- organized, broken up. There must be a "diversity of gifts," to fit men for the spheres which they are to fill, for the service they are to perform ; and these gifts are marvelously diversified. Probably no two men were ever exactly alike fitted for the same work, or ever will be ; how much less can the most gifted excel in everything that is honorable and useful in their day ! This general proposition needs no enlargement. And there is another equally true, which is too often blinked out of sight.
It is this. When a man comes up into life, possessing
12 INTRODUCTION.
j ust the talents which are wanted for some new benev- olent enterprise, it is not an accidental aptitude which is needed, just then, to insure its success. It is not, that where so many are born every year, it might be expected, as a matter of course, that exactly the right talents for every service would be found among the number. No. "As every good gift and every perfect gift cometh down from above;" so, in the bestowment of these gifts, the spirit of God " divideth to every man severally as he will."
It is a common remark, that great and eminently useful men are made by the exigency of the times in which they live ; and, in a limited sense, it is undoubt- edly true. They are brought into notice by the pres- sure of circumstances, by the onward progress of society, and by the demand for talents of a high order, to inaugurate and successfully prosecute great enter- prises. So far the leaders, around whom ordinary men rally, are made by the times. But who made the times 1 In other words, who, in the progress of human affairs, so orders events that just such qualifications and services as are wanted, are at hand to meet the de- mand; and who endows the prominent agents with talents, without which the most urgent necessities of the times would accomplish nothing ? They develop faculties which, under other circumstances, might never have been brought out. That is all they can do. God, in governing this world, raises up such instruments as
INTRODUCTION. 13
he wants, and endows them with just such talents as are best suited to his purpose.
Thus it was that he raised up Moses, and Joshua, and David, and Paul. The ages in which they lived, and which they so illustriously adorned, did not qualify them for their high enterprises, but merely brought them out. Thus it was that he raised up Martin Lu- ther, and endowed him with those extraordinary gifts which placed him in the forefront of the Protestant Eeformation. So George Washington was given to his country, in the time of her greatest peril. So of John Knox, and all the eminent Eeformers of their times. He who can never be at a loss for instruments, endowed them richly and variously with talents for the work which they had to do.
When we come down from these shining heights, nearer to the common level, we are apt to forget, that in like manner, God brings forward and endows whom he will, with the needful abilities to take the lead in every new benevolent enterprise; in every stage of advancement for the spread of the Gospel, and the amelioration of such physical and mental calamities as make life a burden to the deaf and dumb, to the blind and to the insane.
Biographical memorials of such men as have dis- tinguished themselves by taking the lead in these and kindred alleviations, will always be read with interest, even by those who scarcely think at all of Him who
] 4 INTRODUCTION.
gifted them with their noble faculties, and breathed into them the inspiration which bore them on through every discouragement and obstacle; and how much deeper is the interest, when the moving cause, the "loving kindness and tender mercies of our God," are kept continually in view. Doubtless some published memoirs might well have been dispensed with ; but men are endowed with such an infinite variety of gifts ; their lives and labors are so exceedingly modified by providential circumstances ; that very interesting traits of character are often brought out in memoirs which do honor to human nature; and which serve as ex- amples to stimulate others to noble aspirations, but which would otherwise have been lost to the Church and the world. Without claiming the highest rank for the subject of this memoir, we are persuaded, that not only his numerous friends in all parts of the land, but many others, will be glad to see a more extended notice of his life and labors, than has yet been published.
PART FIRST.
EMBRACING THE PERIOD OF HIS EARLY LIFE,
AND HIS LABORS IN THE CAUSE OF
DEAF MUTE EDUCATION.
PART FIRST.
CHAPTER I
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was born in the City of Philadelphia, on the 10th of December, 1787. He could trace back his lineage to an honorable Protestant source, next to that of martyrdom. His great-grand- father, Peter Elihu Gallaudet, was a minister of the Reformed Church, in the city of Rochelle, France, whence so many barely escaped the baptism of blood by fleeing to America, on the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in the reign of Louis XIV. He came to this country somewhat earlier, and settled in or near the town of New Rochelle, in the then infant colony of New York. He had a son, Thomas Gallaudet, who was the paternal grandfather of Thomas H., the sub- ject of our present memorial. His father was Peter W. Gallaudet, and his mother, Jane Hopkins, was the daughter of Captain Thomas Hopkins, a descendant of one of the first settlers of Hartford, Connecticut. The family removed from Philadelphia to Hartford, when Thomas was quite young, where he grew up a
18 LIFE AND LABORS OF
sprightly and promising hoy. His correct deport- ment, his amiable temper, his sparkling eye, and his studious habits, gave early promise of the high dis- tinction which awaited him in classical attainments, and in the improvement of those native talents which, prepared him for such eminent usefulness in after life. The following "Keverie," found among his papers, and which is here inserted, throws light upon his boyhood, and the excursive tendencies of his ever active mind. It does not appear at what period it was written, but the close of it reveals to us the elements, at least, of those speculations upon the language of signs, com- pared with that of speech, ripening into the maturity which so much distinguishes and recommends his lucid statements and arguments in this memoir.
"A REVERIE.
" I believe there are few persons who have not ex- perienced that exquisite mental luxury which is derived from the calm contemplations of a walk in the woods of Autumn, or the midnight musings of a winter's fire- side. At such time?, if no tumultuous passions agitate the breast, the imagination wanders delightfully through the immeasurable fields of its own empire, and rejoices in its arbitrary dominion, transitory as. it may be, over mere shadows and phantasms. How far the indulgence of such a state of mind is conducive to the happiness of the individual who cherishes it, is a question of per- haps not very easy solution, and one which I dare not venture to discuss, lest I should possibly betray my own weakness; for I have to acknowledge that no small portion of my life has been spent in reverie. I can
REV. THOS. n. GALLAUDET. 19
remember, when I was a boy, that I used to steal away from m j companions, and find out a lonely spot in the fields or woods where we were sporting, and seating myself under the shade of some venerable tree, and drawing a thousand strange figures in the sand before me, and ever and anon whistling a simple air of the nursery, give up my youthful fancy to any dreams of future happiness or greatness which it might choose to form. And as I grew older, I used to delight to dwell upon what might be, and to conjure up such scenes of prosperity for myself and friends and all mankind, as would more than realize, could they have an existence, the warmest expectations of the most enthusiastic phil- anthropist. Perhaps such flights of fancy may have opened the way to the important discoveries which have now and then burst upon the view of some happy genius, and astonished mankind both with their novelty and value. At any rate, I hope my serious readers will not decry such musings as wholly useless, and at least indulge one lonely being in these, who is free to confess that they have formed some of the happiest moments of his life.
"The other evening I fell into one of these reveries. The embers of my fire gradually sunk away in the ashes, the clock had struck I know not how many suc- cessive hours without my noticing them, and the first tiling which broke my delightful dream was the crow- ing of the matin cock. I was thinking of the various causes, physical, intellectual, and moral, which had contributed to break the golden chain which once bound together the whole family of man. The Tower of Babel rose conspicuous to my view, and it appeared to me that the confusion of tongues, which ensued upon
20 LIFE AND LABORS OF
that audacious attempt, had been a prime agent in pro- ducing all the discord and animosity which have so long made our unhappy world the theater of tumult and blood. Language is the medium of communica- tion, not only between individuals, but nations; and there is no more effectual barrier between different per- sons and communities, than a difference of speech. It is a kind of Chinese wall, which shuts up within its own inclosure all useful discoveries in the sciences and arts. It is like the old Egyptian secret of preserving the dead, and embalms in immortal youth all the habits, customs, and manners of a people. It is the optic glass through which we discern the human mind ; and sometimes it disfigures and distorts all that is true and honest and candid, so as to beget the grossest conceptions of the views and intentions of others. It is the embassy which one nation sends to another ; and if its diplomatic com- munications be misconstrued, it becomes the fruitful source of contests and bloodshed. It is the pioneer which 'precedes all missionary efforts, and often it has rugged paths to clear and tremendous obstacles to remove, be- fore the way can be made straight for the triumphal march of Christianity through the regions of supersti- tion and sin.
" Before the millennium arrives, will one language prevail and swallow up the rest, or will mankind agree to form a universal language ? Would not such a pro- ject be pregnant with incalculable advantages? How shall it be accomplished ? What shall this universal language be ? Is there already one, provided by Na- ture herself, easy of acquisition, universal in its appli- cation, and which demands neither types nor paper? lias such a language yet eluded the research of the
REV. TITOS, H. GALLAUDET. 21
profoundest philosopliers, and is it left for some happy genius yet to find it? As is often the case, just when the mind is ready to light upon some most wonderful discovery, the capricious fancy disdains the dull pro- cess of beating out trutli upon the anvil of experiment — and my reverie ended."
Mr. Gallaudet was fitted for Yale College in the Hartford Grammar School, and entered the sopho- more class in the autumn of 1802, in the fifteenth year of his age; quite too young, as he himself used to say, to reap the full advantage of a collegiate educa- tion. In this judgment the most experienced teachers in our public seminaries will, I am quite sure, concur. Parents commit a great mistake when they push their sons into college as early as they can. What if they are well fitted to enter at the age of fourteen, or even younger ? it is far better, on every account, to keep them out two or three years longer. There is no dif- ficulty in finding profitable studies for them, without anticipating those in the prescribed classical course, which rarely if ever should be clone ; for, in a majority of cases, it would tempt the student to wait for the class to overtake him, and thus form a habit of neglect, hard to be overcome, during the whole course.
Do what you can to force your favorite son forward, and make a prodigy of him, nature will take her own time to make a full-grown, healthy man, and will refuse to cooperate with you unless you will patiently wait for her. She never puts any of her children into hot- houses to bring them to a precocious, pale maturity, and then to wilt down in the open air. Do what you will, the mind does not gain sufficient strength and maturity to grapple with the higher mathematical and deeper
22 LIFE AND LABORS OF
metaphysical branches of a thorough public education till the student approaches his majority. Sixteen is quite young enough to enter the freshman class. Seventeen, in all ordinary cases; is still better. This will bring him out at twenty-one, which is early enough.
It is quite true that some minds ripen earlier than others ; and it is freely conceded that some who gradu- ate very young, rise above many of their seniors in after life, as was the case with Grallaudet. But the exceptions are so few as hardly to affect the general rule. And moreover, if a boy who enters at fourteen and graduates at eighteen, holds a high rank in his class, and afterwards among the educated men of his age, it is not unreasonable to suppose1 that he might have made his mark still higher had he waited longer for the full development of his powers. If Gallaudet, who was the youngest member of his class, surpassed us all in general scholarship, as I think he did, it is reasonable to infer that he might have distanced us still more had he been two or three years older than he was when our text-books made the heaviest demands upon his ability to master them.
But to return from this digression. More youthful in appearance than even in age ; modest, unobtrusive, and strictly correct in all his habits ; Grallaudet was a universal favorite in his class. We all loved him, and anticipated much from him, in whatever pro- fession he might choose to enter. In his studies he was remarkably systematic, and was scrupulously punctual in his attendance upon all college exer- cises. Rarely, if ever, had he a mark upon the moni- tor's bill ; and whoever else might boggle over the lesson, Gallaudet was sure to have mastered it. He
REV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 23
Lad a talent and a taste for mathematics, which would have given him very high distinction as a professor in that department, had he chosen to devote his life to it. In English composition he had no superior, and no equal, in his class. Indeed there was no branch, except declamation, in which he did not excel ; and in that he always acquitted himself handsomely, though his voice was not strong, and he was too modest to do himself full justice on the college stage. He graduated in 1805, with the highest honors of his class, and left our Aim Mater, with the confident prediction of those who knew him best, that should his life and health be spared he would become one of her brightest ornaments.
He was not then a professor of religion, and it does not appear that when he left college he had marked out for himself any profession. But it was not in his nature to be idle. He very soon entered the office of Hon. Chauncey Goodrich, one of the most distinguished lawyers in Hartford, Conn., and applied himself with characteristic diligence to the study of Blackstone's Commentaries. Had he chosen the law, which at that time probably offered more attractions to his mind than any other, it cannot be doubted that he would have taken a high rank with the most aspiring of his contem- poraries. But the law, honorable and useful as it is, was not to be his profession. His health failed him before the end of the first year ; and at the close of the second year after his graduation he was chosen tutor, and returned to his college, where he discharged the duties of the office with honor to himself and the insti- tution, for about two years. While there, he devoted his leisure to the study of English composition and literature, of which he was extremely fond, and per-
24- LTFE AND LABORS OF
fected that pure idiomatic and transparent style for which he was so remarkably distinguished.
Leaving college once more, what should he do next? The state of his health required active services of some kind, and a business commission, which was offered him by a large commercial house in New York, took him over the Alleghany Mountains on an agency, which was at once invigorating to his constitution, and profitable to his employers. This prepared the way for his entering as a clerk, soon after his return, into a respectable counting room, intending, it is presumed, to devote his life to merchandise.
But this was not the will of Providence. God had more important work for him to do : a work for which he was better qualified, we believe, than any other young man, whose services could have been secured. The great and only deficiency was, he had not yet given his heart to God. And j ust here it was that the Holy Spirit interposed to supply the deficiency; opened his eyes to his guilty and lost condition, and as he tremblingly hoped, brought him out of dark- ness, into the light and liberty of the Gospel. He soon after made a public profession of his faith in Christ, and united with the First Congregational Church in Hartford, under the ministry of the Eev. Dr. Nathan Strong.
Whatever his plans for life may have been up to this time, they were now changed. Eelinquishing his nattering mercantile prospects, he turned his thoughts to the pulpit, and in the autumn of 1811, entered the Andover Theological Seminary. Availing himself of its distinguished advantages, he passed through the prescribed course of studies, took his diploma at the
REV. TIIOS. H. GALLAUDET. 25
anniversary in 1814, and, better furnished to fill any pulpit which he might have chosen, than most others, he was licensed and commenced preaching with such acceptance, that many congregations would gladly have secured his permanent labor.
Here again, his Master unexpectedly interposed. He might preach the Gospel, and did preach, almost regularly, as will appear, till the last year of his life ; but the work of a settled pastor was not the great mission for which God had been preparing him. He was to enter a new and then unexplored field of Christian philanthropy on this side of the ocean, and to devote his life to services, of far wider influence, than any pulpit could command. To prepare the way for this eminently useful mission, God had visited one of the most prominent and worthy families in Hartford, with a sore and lasting affliction. A lovely daughter of remarkable promise, had, when about two years old, been stricken with the spotted fever, which barely spared her life, and entirely deprived her of hearing, so that in all her bloom and sprightliness, she grew up a deaf mute, and of course lost even the sweet lisping, which through the livelong day charmed the family circle, when the intricate avenue of sound was sud- denly closed for ever !
But what, it may be asked, had this sore visitation to do with changing the plans of the young preacher, and giving a new direction to his whole future life ? " Much every way." "Whatever other purposes of God, who " worketh all things according to the counsel of his own will," may have been bound up in this afflictive Providence, we cannot for a moment doubt, that it was intended to prepare the way for 2
26 LIFE AND LABORS OF
unstopping the ears of thousands, and pouring the light of knowledge and salvation into their dark minds, and causing their hearts to sing for joy, who but for the eclipse of this lovely star would never have been so blessed.
REV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 27
CHAPTER II.
No strange thing happened, when Alice Cogswell, the daughter of Dr. Mason F. Cogswell, in the city of Hartford, was deprived of hearing and speech. It was a ranch more common calamity in the State of Connecticut and throughout the land than had been supposed. There were thousands of deaf mutes in this country, not one of whom had ever received that systematic instruction, which had begun to wake up some of the same unhappy class, as it were to a new existence, in Europe. Probably, not one of their friends at that time, indulged the hope, that the light of education and religion would ever, by any process, dispel the darkness from their minds. And had Alice Cogswell belonged to one of the poor families in Hartford, however worthy, there is no reason to think that her case would have led to such inquiries and measures as resulted in the establishment of the Asylum in Hartford, for the education of deaf mutes, which has since been so thronged with pupils, and which is the parent of all the schools of this class, that have since sprung up in other sections of the United States.
Happily, Dr. Cogswell had heard of the success attending the schools then beginning to attract public attention and hope in Great Britain and France. One of the books of the Abbe Sicard, the distinguished
28 LIFE AND LABOES OF
head of the school in Paris, fell into his hands, and kindled a hope in -his anxious bosom, that his own be- loved daughter might be educated by the new method of signs, in place of oral instruction. But where ? Should he send her abroad or endeavor to educate her at home ? How could it be done at home, as there was no such school in this country, and not a single individual who understood the system?
His next step was, to institute inquiries with regard to the number of the deaf and dumb in Connecticut ; and it was found to be so much greater than anybody had imagined, that he believed enough might be gather- ed in New England alone, to form a pretty large school. But it would cost money, and could not be done without substantial cooperation. Happily, there was no difficulty in finding so much encouragement, that an association was formed in Hartford, consisting of names which should be held in grateful remembrance by all the friends of the deaf and dumb in this coun- try, as well as by the thousands who have already shared so richly in the unspeakable blessings of the system of education, which that association inaugurated. But the establishment of a school would require more means than they could spare ; and the next move was to issue a circular, asking for aid in the preliminary steps which must be taken towards the attainment of the object.
So encouraging was the response, that the associa- tion resolved to go forward, relying upon His smiles who delights to prosper all good enterprises. But where could a competent teacher be found ? This was likely to be more difficult than to raise the necessary funds — for no one in this country understood the sys-
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 29
tern of symbolic instruction — somebody must be sent abroad to study it, and qualify himself for the task. Who should go? It must be a man of no ordinary capacity, attainments and aptitude, and where was he to be found ?
God, who is never at a loss for instruments to accomplish his benevolent purposes, had been prepar- ing a young man for the new enterprise. This was Thomas H. Gallaudet, one of their own citizens, and then a popular candidate for the ministry. Without the remotest thought of such an agency, he had, in his vacations at home, while studying his profession, become deeply interested in the unhappy condition of Alice Cogswell, then about ten years of age. He saw that she was a child of remarkable promise, if her intellect could any how be developed. As his father's and her father's gardens alone separated the two families, and he saw her every day, he became more and more interested in her, and succeeded, better than any one else, in conversing with her by manual signs, and teaching her the names of persons and things by sim- ple sentences ; these favorable beginnings led her friends to hope that she might even be taught to read and write, without being sent abroad.
Blessed be God, the time had come to take the first step. Here was the very man wanted for the enter- prise. ISTo one else, I believe, was thought of. His fine education, gentlemanly manners, attractive social qualities, philosophical turn of mind, undoubted piety, and growing sympathy for the large class of deaf mutes wholly uncarcd for in this country, recom- mended him as preeminently qualified for the task of pouring the light of a new being into their dark minds.
30 LIFE AND LABORS OF
But could lie be persuaded to embark in an untried service, of so much labor and responsibility, which might break down a constitution rather feeble at the best, and in an enterprise, too, which the public might not yet be prepared to sustain? When asked, " Will you go ? " it was a trying question to answer. The Christian ministry was his chosen profession. Would it be right to give it up for any other ? And if it would, had he such talents and acquirements as were demanded, to ensure success, when so much would depend upon the ability and popularity of the first teacher ? In a word, though the choice had unani- mously fallen upon him, and with no common ur- gency, was the voice of God in it? "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? " was the only question with him, and a prayerful consideration of the subject in its wide and momentous bearings, brought him to the conclusion, that it was his duty to embark in the enterprise, and with characteristic promptitude he made his arrangements for entering at once upon the service.
To Alice Cogswell.
" New York, May 14th, 1815. " Dear Alice, — In a few days I shall go into the ship. If God keeps me from all danger, I shall be in England in a few weeks. You must not forget what you told me you would do every morning and evening. Pray to God, that he will keep me alive and safe, and bring me back again to Hartford. Pray to him to blot out all your past sins, all that you have done wrong, all that you have thought wrong, all
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 31
that you have felt wrong. Pray to him to make you feel very sorry that you have been wicked. Pray to him to make your heart good, and to make you love his son Jesus Christ. Get somebody to help you to understand a verse in the Bible every day, and then think about it. If you could understand ~ the Bible as well as Mary and Elizabeth, I know you would be very glad, and read it a great deal. I hope when I come back, to teach you much about the Bible, and about God, and Christ, and the world where we shall all be after we die. I hope God will keep you alive till I come back ; but if he should take your soul into the other world, I pray him to receive you into heaven, where you may be always good and happy.
" Your true friend,
" T. H. GALLAUDET."
Furnished with letters of introduction to some of the most distinguished philanthropists in Great Brit- ain, and also to the heads of the Deaf and Dumb Schools, in London and Edinburgh, he embarked at New York for Liverpool, on the 25th of May, 1815, where, after a pleasant voyage, he arrived on the 25th of June.
To Mr. Ward Woodbridge.
" London, July 10th, 1815. " Dear Sir, — I wrote you a few lines from Liver- pool, about a fortnight since, which I hope will reach you. I arrived here on the 5th instant, after having passed through a most delightful tract of country.
32 LIFE AND LABORS OF
The season of the year was such, as to invest the scenery with its sweetest charms ; and I think there is a delicacy and grace in the English landscape, which far surpasses anything of the kind in our own country. The gentle undulations of hill and dale; the rich and varied verdure of the field and foliage ; the extreme neatness that everywhere prevails; the nnmerous intersections of green hedges; the pic- turesque character of the buildings, from the thatched roofed cottage, with its little garden of flowers before the door, to the stately palace and the ruined castle, all blend together, and present to the eye of the stranger an impression more like the single effect of a fine piece of painting, than anything else to which I can compare it. Nor was I without high intellectual, and I may say religious gratification on my route. At Leicester, I spent the Sabbath, and became acquainted with the famous Eobert Hall, whose sermons I dare say you have read. It was his communion Sabbath. I called at his house just before the morning service, and went with him to his chapel, which is quite a small building in an obscure part of the town. All the dissenting places of public worship are called chapels. Mr. Hall's discourse was from these words, I think in the last chapter of Eevelation, " There shall be no more curse there." His subject was set forth in a very plain, perspicuous, and affec- tionate, manner, with considerable feeling. There was nothing in his style, or expression, or turn 01 thought, very remarkable or eloquent. Yet there was a charm cast over the whole — a delicacy, a tenderness, a simplicity, in short, an accommodation of a great and lofty spirit to the weak comprehension of even
REV. TITOS. II. GALLAUDET. 33
the lambs of his flock, which raised my admiration more than the grandest display of his decidedly pow- erful talents would have done. His manner is easy and familiar. Sometimes he is leaning a little on one arm, and sometimes on the other, on the pulpit. His action is chaste and striking ; and when he becomes animated, there is a good deal of it. He is rather above the middle stature, of an athletic make, and in his whole person giving marks of great strength and vigor. His face is, so to speak, on a large scale, indicating great intrepidity of thought and character ; and yet his tone of voice and manner in conversation, are remarkably sweet and engaging. I witnessed his family devotions in the evening, and there was something in his prayer which said, what he well knew and felt, that the real saint has always in re- membrance the injunction of our Savior, which requires of his followers to become like little children. Mr. Hall, though a Baptist, is most liberal in his feelings towards other Christian sects. His congre- gation are in part Independents, who, of course, have their children baptized by some other clergyman. Oh, that the spirit of Catholicism could pervade all
the Christian World !
"T. H. G."
It was confidently expected that Mr. Gallaudet's tes- timonials would give him free access to the London and Edinburgh schools, and it was not doubted that every facility would be afforded him for qualifying himself, in as short a time as might be necessary, to return, and take charge of a similar school in this country. But in this he was disappointed. 2*
34 LIFE AXD LABORS OF
These schools, in England and Scotland, were private establishments, and though the proprietors and teachers, with one or two exceptions, perhaps, treated him with personal courtesy, they had bound themselves by rules and restrictions, which virtually shut him out. The only condition on which they were willing to receive him, was, that he should enter the lowest class as a pupil, and pass regularly through the prescribed three years' course. To this he could not assent. He believed he could accom- plish it in a much shorter time. He asked to be admitted to the school in London on trial for a few weeks, hoping by his proficiency to gain more favor- able terms, but all in vain. It must be three years or nothing.
Here I am strongly tempted to quote largely from Mr. Grallaudet's journal, showing how he was met with objections and delays at every point ; being sent back- wards and forwards, from the committee to the teachers, and from the teachers to the committee, without getting a definite answer, till " hope deferred made his heart sick." It would be easy to show, that viewed in the most favorable light, there was a want of sympathy and liberality, on the part of those who had the keys of the London school, which could not have been anticipated. But it was so long ago, and the times are now so much changed, that it is better, perhaps, to let it pass. Suffice it to say, that after being kept in suspense six weeks in London, every day of which Mr. Gallaudet wanted, for the advantages the school might have afforded him, he received the following letter, enclosing the final decision of the committee.
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 35
" Loxdox, August 10th, 1815. " Sir, — I am requested to transmit to you a copy of a resolution which the sub-committee have this day agreed upon, after having considered your application referred to them, and which it is their intention to present to the committee on Monday next, at the Asylum of the Deaf and Dumb.
"I am, your very obedient servant,
" STEPHEN HOUGH, Chairman.
" ' Resolved, That after mature deliberation, taking into view the due discipline of the Asylum, and the proper time requisite to qualify an effective instructor of the deaf and dumb, the auditors in connection with Dr. Watson, beg to recommend to the committee, to allow Mr. Gallaudet to be received into the Asylum for one month, upon liking, with a view, that upon the expiration of that period, he shall be engaged as an assistant for three years, on the usual terms, with power to Dr. Watson to relieve him from his engage- ment sooner, if it shall appear that Mr. Gallaudet is qualified before the end of that time.' "
This put Mr. Gallaudet entirely in Dr. "Watson's power, who had again and again insisted, that the whole term of three years would be necessary ; and here the long and perplexing negotiation closed. Mr. Gal- laudet conducted it, throughout, in a manner which was highly creditable to his sound judgment, untiring perseverance, and disinterested efforts to secure the great and only object of his mission. As he embarked in it with all his heart, so it appears to have absorbed all his time and thoughts during his whole absence. It may well be doubted, whether any man of his edu-
36 LIFE AND LABORS OF
cation and cultivated taste, ever visited Great Britain and France for the first time, without allowing himself more leisure for sight-seeing, than he did. Under al- most any circumstances, the galleries of paintings, the museums, libraries, and other objects of deep interest to foreign travelers, would have allured him by their inexhaustible attractions, and afforded him the highest gratification ; but his heart was every day and hour yearning over the unhappy class of deaf mutes at home, in whose behalf he had crossed the sea, and he felt it his duty to qualify himself as soon as possible, to return and give them the benefit of his acquire- ments. His journal reminds us more of John How- ard, who saw nothing, thought of nothing, but the jails and prisons which he visited in foreign countries, than any other that has yet fallen under our notice.
Leaving London on the 24th of August, 1815, Mr. Gallaudet embarked for Edinburgh, and arrived at Leith on the 27th. Without loss of time, he delivered his letter of introduction to James F. Gordon, Esq., Secretary of the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb in that city. Mr. Gordon cordially received him, and at once gave him a note to Mr. Eobert Kinniburgh, the principal of that flourishing school, and to whom Mr. Gallaudet explained the object of his visit. But here again, he was to meet with another sore disappoint- ment. After spending more than a month, between hope and discouragement, in urging his request for ad- mittance, to receive instruction in the modes of teach- ing, Mr. Gordon stated to him, that with every wish to forward his benevolent mission, he was sorry that there was an obstacle, and an insuperable one, he feared, to complying with his request : that four years ago,
REV. TIIOS. n. GALLAUDET. 37
Mr. Kinniburgh, as a condition of receiving instruction, himself, for the place which he now held, had entered into a contract, under a bond of £1000, not to commu- nicate the method, directly or indirectly, to any indi- vidual for the space of seven years.
Mr. Gallaudet charitably thought that the condi- tions of the bond could not have been intended to exclude foreigners, who might wish to qualify them- selves for establishing similar schools in their own countries, and thus extend the blessings of the system. He argued the point with much ingenuity and earnest- ness. But the committee, to whom the question was finally submitted, decided against him, and there the matter ended. It may seem strange to us, that any bond at all was required of Mr. Kinniburgh. But when it was given, the monopoly for a limited time seems to have been thought reasonable to remunerate Mr. Braidwood, who inaugurated the English system of deaf mute instruction, considering the priceless blessings of education which it would ultimately bestow upon the very large class of persons for whose instruc- tion no other method had been devised.
That the enlightened philanthropists of Edinburgh and London extremely regretted the restrictions which wasted so much of Mr. Gallaudet's precious time, and blasted his hopes, appears in the following extracts of letters, which he received after he left the island:
" London, Jan'y 1st, 1816. " My Dear Sir, — A pressure of engagements has pre- vented an earlier reply to the letter you favored me with last week ; but I am unwilling to defer it longer, though it may not be in the satisfactory manner I could wish.
33 LIFE AND LABORS OF
" It is really a grief to me to learn, that your benev- olent design in visiting this country is likely to be defeated, and I cannot but view it as a national re- proach, that it should be the case, though the disap- pointment may arise from the selfish or narrow spirit of individuals. It can be no matter of surprise, that you should feel disheartened, as a very different recep- tion might have been justly expected; still, as regards yourself, individually, it is an exercise of faith, to which, through Divine aid, you may be made equal, looking above second causes, and viewing the hearts of men as under a superior control. How unable is feeble man to foresee the designs of Omnipotence, and how often may the Christian look back in his journey, and exclaim, l Thanks be to God for such a trial, for such a disappointment ; his ways are indeed in the deep, and his footsteps are past finding out ! ' In the visit which you are designing to make to Paris, some opportunity of usefulness may be preparing, of which you are little aware ; it may be, in that great city, the Master, whom you serve, is intending to make you the instrument of good to one and another that you think not of. Be not then discouraged, * in due time you shall reap if you faint not ; ' and inasmuch as it is in your heart to promote the eternal interests of your perishing fellow-creatures, the intention, at least, will be accepted. Audit is our undoubted duty to leave every issue to Him who sees the end from the beginning ; whose ways and whose thoughts transcend our finite conception as the heaven is above the earth. "Iara, Dear Sir, yours,
" With much regard,
"JOSIAH ROBERTS."
REV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 39
Extract of Letters from Eobert Kinniburgh, Princi- pal of the Deaf and Bumh Asylum in Edinburgh.
"Edinburgh, April 16th, 1816.
" My Dear Sir, — Did I not know that you possess a considerable portion of that charity which thinketh no evil, I should be afraid of being charged with a breach of promise. When you left here, I certainly did ex- pect to write you sooner. But our Eeport has been much longer in the printer's hands than we at first expected; and as I have just heard, by accident, that you have reached Paris, I send you a few copies by the way of London, trusting they will reach you in safety. I have also learned that you met with a warm reception from the Abbe Sicard ; and by this time you will be able to judge, if you are likely to reap any material advantage from his course.
" Permit me once more, unfeignedly to express my regret, that circumstances well known to you, prevent- ed me from furthering the benevolent object of your journey to this country. I believe I shall always be glad to hear of your success and prosperity, and shall be happy to have the honor of ranking among your list of correspondents.
" Yours, ever truly,
" EOBERT KINNIBUEGH."
From the same.
" June 14th, 1816. " My Dear Sir, — I was favored with yours a few days ago, and as an opportunity offers itself by the way of London, I embrace it to send you a few more
40 LIFE AND LABOES OF
of our reports. I am happy to understand that you have met with such a kind reception, and are liking Paris so well, and have the prospect of reaping benefit from your instructions. All I shall say at present, with regard to the system of teaching the deaf and dumb — be it English, Scotch, or French — -vain and useless is that system, that does not take advantage of every avenue to the mind. I can easily see that the blackboard may be of service in some cases, but not in all. Don't you think that slates would serve the pur- pose much better ? Do all the class write on the same board ? In what way do you ascertain that they com- prehend what is written, if they do not write themselves? Is it by signs, or by spelling on the fingers ? It is of the last importance that they fully comprehend what is given them, so that in a few days afterwards, in going over the same ground, they, in their turn, may be able to give an explanation. m Be so good as to present my most respectful compliments to the Abbe, and believe me to be, Your sincere friend,
" R. KINNIBURGH."
When Mr. Gallaudet left Edinburgh, one resource still remained. Soon after he arrived in London, he had been providentially introduced to the Abbe Sicard, the renowned head of the Deaf and Dumb Asylum in Paris, who was then delivering a course of lectures to large audiences, who invited him to cross the Channel, with the assurance that every facility should be granted him in that school ; and, moreover, that the Abbe himself would give him private instruction, as he devoted a portion of his time to those who wished to acquire his art for the sake of using it in their
EEV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 41
own country. Mr. Gallaudet now resolved to avail himself of the generous offer, as soon as he could to the best advantage. He would gladly have gone to Paris at once. The reasons why he did not, he gives in the following letter, under date of August 10th, 1815:
"As the political state of France is apparently very unsettled, and as the season of the year is consider- ably advanced, I have concluded to spend a few months here before proceeding to Paris. Indeed, I think this will conduce not a little to the furtherance of my general object. I shall attend the lectures of Dr. Brown, on the philosophy of the human mind, with which, in reference to my intended pursuit, I ought to be thoroughly acquainted. I shall read the Abbe Sicard's treatises on the instruction of deaf mutes, and endeavor, also, to acquire a greater famili- arity with the French language than I now have, by which means, if I visit Paris, I shall be enabled, in a short time, as I hope, to derive all the instruction from the Abbe which I need, and by the spring it will probably be determined what the state of France will be."
MISCELLANEOUS LETTEES.
To Alice Cogswell.
" London, August 15th, 1815.
" Dear Alice, — Three thousand miles are between
us ; yet I do not forget you nor your dear father and
mother, and sister and brother. How are you all ? I
want once more to see you all, and I shall see you, if
42 LIFE AND LABORS OF
God keeps us all alive till we meet. Do you ever think of the school for the deaf and dumb, and the little meeting-house, too, about which we used to talk when I last saw you ? I have seen a great many deaf and dumb persons in England. I have seen one hun- dred and sixty boys and girls in the same school. Dr. Watson wanted me to stay with him three years to learn to teach you and the other deaf and dumb persons in America. I could not do this. It is too long a time. So I must go to Edinburgh, where I hope they will be more kind to me. I talked with a number of the scholars here. Some of them speak very well. With some I talked on a slate. I wrote this question to one of the boys, ' What do you think of Jesus Christ ? ' He wrote, ' I think Jesus Christ is the friend of all penitent sinners, and deserves to be adored and loved for his great kindness.' And do not you think so, too ? We ought all to think so, for we have all sinned, and God is angry with sinners ; but he will forgive us if we will be sorry for our sins, and believe on his son Jesus Christ, and love him, and do what the Bible tells us we must do. You pray to God, I hope, to lead you to do so. If you pray, he will hear you, and his Spirit will make you good. I hope you are learning every day something useful. Learn to write beautifully. Study some arithmetic and geography. Look at persons' lips when they speak, and try to see if you can't under- stand some words that they speak. Get Mary and Elizabeth to speak some words to you, such as chair, table, door, water, fire, run, walk, &c. They must speak very slowly, and you must try to remember how their lips move. Get them to ask you questions
REV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 43
on paper, and try to answer them ; and they must tell you when you answer wrong.
" I am, your true friend,
"T. H. GALLAUDET."
To the same.
" Edinburgh, January 22d, 1816. 11 My Dear Alice, — Two of your letters have reached me. In the last you told me a very pretty story about Mr. Colt, and you wrote it very well. I was very glad to see your improvement. I know several of the deaf and dumb scholars in Mr. Kinni- burgh's school here. He is a very kind and faithful teacher ; and they love him much. One of the girls is named Ellen Hall. She is about sixteen years old. She has been in the school three years. She has been so kind as to write you a letter. I asked her to do it. You will see what she says about God in it. Mr. Kinniburgh teaches his scholars to know who God is, and who Christ is ; and he teaches them to love Christ, because Christ died to save sinners. Do you remember how I tried to make you under- stand why Christ died ? I hope you do not forget to pray to God every morning and evening. I shall send Mr. Wood bridge a long prayer, written by one of the scholars. You must ask Mr. "Woodbridge to show you this prayer, and ask your mamma to make you understand it. Give my love to your papa and mamma, to Mary and to Elizabeth, and Catherine. Eemember me, too, to the people in the kitchen. " From your true friend,
" T. H. G."
44 LIFE AND LABORS OF
To Mr. Woodbridge.
" Edinburgh, Sep. 30th, 1815. " My dear Sir, — I feel a deeper interest than ever in my undertaking. What I have seen in this part of the world only the more convinces me, of the in- sufficiency of all earthly good. There is no path of peace, but that of loving Grod and living to his glory. And oh, how fully should we realize this truth, did we conform less than we do to the world. The more I see of Christians, the more I am convinced, that one of their greatest sins at the present day is conformity to the world. Indeed, they practice in this but little self denial. I long to hear of the religious state of Hartford, and especially of its young people. I have written Dr. Cogswell and several others of my friends since I came here. Please tell the Doctor, that the philosophers here, and Dugald Stewart at their head, take a deep interest in Julia Brace, the little deaf, dumb and blind girl, and that I ask it of him as a peculiar favor, that every attention be shown her, which can tend to prepare her to become my protege on my return. I wish an experiment to be fairly tried with her, either by Dr. C. or her mother, or some kind person who will be faithful in attending to it. Let some letters be made, either of wood, or iron, or clay, about half an inch in height, so that their shape can be easily perceived by the touch. With these letters, placed in a proper order, spell the names of some objects with which she used to be most familiar before her blindness, and which she knew the names of in her spelling book, and if any such can be found in which she still takes an interest, so much the better.
BET. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 45
Whoever undertakes this must not be discouraged at a few disappointments, and if one expedient fails, let him try another. And do not smile at all this. The blind are taught to read by the touch at Paris and Amsterdam."
To Mr. Balph Emerson.
" Edinburgh, Jan. 11th, 1816.
" Dear Sir, — I thank you cordially for your kind letter, and for the interesting matter which it con- tained. It was written in one of the happiest of your philosophical moods, the true picture of what you were at Andover ; and more gratifying to me than if it had been full of what you remember Ave so often concluded was of little use between friends. I think it most probable, that you have heard ere this, of my un- successful application for admission into the London Asylum for the deaf and dumb. Here I have met with new difficulties. The Edinburgh institution is under bonds to Mr. Braidwood, not to instruct any one who intends to become an instructor.
"I shall probably soon go to Paris, where I have the promise from the Abbe Sicard himself, of every assistance he can afford me. I have suffered much from my disappointments. This, together with the extreme variableness and humidity of the climate at this season of the year in Edinburgh, has often quite prostrated my poor animal spirits. Ah, my friend, you are one of the few who can understand me when I say, that of all the trials which God in his infinite wisdom sees fit to impose upon man, the most dreadful
46 LIFE AND LABORS OF
is that of intellectual and moral lethargy, which levels one so abjectly in the dust, leaving no power of re- action, while the dismal degradation is enhanced by the remembrance of brighter, happier, holier hours, and by the conviction that all this is the mere slavery of the soul ; a bondage unto which it is held by a few particles of perishable dust.
You and I have often Dugald-ized together, and I dare say you will remember the enthusiasm with which I used to speak of the possibility of seeing Mr. Stewart. A curious chain of Providences gave me this gratification. There is something most engaging about him. I dare not attempt to describe him, for I have but little talent at tracing stature, and form, and voice, and physiognomy. Dignity, benevolence, modesty, nay, child-like simplicity, combined with great ease and elegance ; and when I saw him, softened almost into tenderness, somewhat like melancholy — these were the traits of manner which most forcibly caught my attention, and I have often thought within myself, why cannot some, whose radical principles of thought and action, being founded on the precepts of the New Testament, should lead to the same exterior of deportment — why cannot they, too, adorn with its proper graces the religion which they profess ? And I thought, how would some of our self-conceited, ostentatious, confident, domineering, conversation-en- grossing, literary, scrap- purring, oracular, dogmatical, would-be great folks, hide their diminished heads, and blush at their petty greatness, if they could see the chaste modesty of one of the greatest philosophers and scholars of Europe !
Mr. Stewart's successor in the chair of moral philos-
EEV. TIIOS. H. GALLAUDET. 47
ophy is Dr. Thomas Brown. I have already heard nearly forty of his lectures. He differs from all his predecessors in his views of the human mind. He thinks the Scotch metaphysicians have made too many divisions of the powers and faculties of the mind, and ■ that the French have aimed at too great simplicity. He pursues a middle course. In general, I like his nomenclature. It is somewhat new. Of the essence of the mind we know nothing. We only know its states and phenomena. These may be divided into internal and external affections. The latter includes all that we usually call sensations. It embraces those traits of mind whose existence and modifications depend on external objects. The former includes all the mental phenomena, and is divided into intellectual states of mind and emotions. Dr. Brown has a great deal of the most luxuriant imagery in his writing; almost too much for a metaphysician, and abundance of classical allusion and quotations. He is quite a young man, unmarried, and his family is made up of his mother and sisters. I have often been at his house, and lately at a conversational party, at which Professor Playfair was present, remarkable for his great plainness, sim- plicity and modesty of manners ; a venerable man of more than sixty years of age. I cannot finish without a moral. Before I left home, could I have wished to be transported to any part of the globe, in order to enjoy the richest treat of which my intellectual nature was susceptible, it would have been my first desire to have been placed amid the very scenes through which I have passed. And what is the result ? A stronger conviction than ever, that literary grandeur, " this also is vanity ; " and that he best consults his true
48 LIFE AND LABORS OF
dignity and peace, who walks humbly with his God, in whatever sphere of usefulness he may be placed; and that to be the means of saving one soul, is a more desirable blessing than to hold the proudest Tank among the learned, or to enjoy the highest of those delights whicji literature and taste claim as their own. Do not fail to write me.
" Affectionately yours,
" T. H. G."
To Dr. Cogswell.
"Edinburgh, Jan. 11, 1816. " Dear Sir, — Your kind letter, by Mr. Upson, I have received, enclosing one from Alice, for both of which accept my thanks. Alice's letter does her great credit, and gave me unspeakable pleasure, as affording a pledge of what her future attainments may be, if Providence spares her life and succeeds our project. I have shown Alice's letter to several of our friends here, who express their surprise at her improvement, especially when the disadvantages under which she has labored are considered. Among these friends are Mrs. Grant, the authoress of ( Letters from the Moun- tains,' and Dr. Thomas Brown, Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University. The latter takes a deep interest, apparently, in my enterprise. He has re- quested copies of Alice's letters, which I have given him, and he lately desired me, when I wrote home, to give his affectionate regards to my little pupil. We have several times analyzed together Alice's letters, in order to discover their true meaning — and in doing this, I have been surprised at Dr. Brown's acutencss
REV. TIIOS. II. GALLAUDET. 49
and subtlety of investigation. He lias also guided me in my researches, both, by giving me his own thoughts, and by furnishing me with books on the instruction of the deaf and dumb from his own and the University library.
" One day, as I was leaving his house, he said, ' If I were not engaged in my duties at the University, I know of no pursuit in which I could take more delight than in the instruction of the deaf and dumb.' So you see I ought to feel the importance of my intended profession. I hope I do feel it, and from a better motive than any which this world can afford. I long to be in the midst of my deaf and dumb children — for such I mean to consider them — and, if you will believe me, I look forward to that situation with eager anticipations of delight, which are not in the least diminished by the scenes of novelty, taste, and of splendor which surround me. I think I have realized, more than I ever did before, the vanity of the world, and have felt that not even the grandeur of literary majesty, far above the pomp of the warrior or the splendor of the great, can bear a comparison with the simple dignity of the humblest and meekest follower of Him who was meek and lowly in heart.
"I begin to think that one intention of Providence, in permitting some men to reach lofty summits of intellectual excellence while their hearts are strangers to the love of God, is to illustrate, in the clear light of the approaching future world, how insignificant and worthless are the proudest acquirements and efforts of genius, that idol of literary paganism, when contrasted with the silent and despised graces of moral worth. «T. EL G."
3
50 LIFE AND LABORS OF
To Mr. Woodbridge.
" Edinburgh, Dec. 6th, 1816. "My Dear Sir, — I have been careful to write Dr. Cogswell and yourself, by different opportunities, giving you quite in detail the history of my disap- pointments, for so I must call them, though I cannot but hope that they may conduce, under the blessing of God, to the furtherance of that very undertaking which they seem to retard in its progress. I soon learned, from Mr. Gordon, that I was here to encounter new difficulties. The institution is under bonds to Mr. Thomas Braidwood, of Birmingham, not to com- municate instruction to any person who wishes to become a teacher of the deaf and dumb, under the penalty of a thousand pounds. Of course I could hope for relief in no other way than by influencing Mr. B. to release the obligation of the bond. I wrote him, presenting every motive I could think of that would be likely to succeed. His first letter was en- couragiDg, but the second contained a flat denial of my request. Notwithstanding his refusal, I still had hopes that the committee of the institution might, upon reflection, consider the bond as an illegal one, or, at least, as not applicable to my case. Many of them, and Mr. Gordon among the rest, were in the country, and I had to wait some time for their return. They at last met, and were unanimously of opinion, that good faith required of them a strict observance of the bond, even in the case of a foreigner. I wish, however, that you should understand, that in all the intercourse which I have had with the committee and with Mr. Kinniburgh, the worthy and able teacher of
REV. TIIOS. II. GALLAUDET. 51
the institution, I have met with the most kind and liberal treatment ; and I have not the smallest doubt, that had it been possible, I shonld have received from the institution, gratuitously and cordially, every assist- ance which it could afford me. These events occupied some time. The season had advanced considerably, and several reasons determined me to spend a few months longer in Edinburgh. Dr. Thomas Brown has been kind enough, from time to time, to lend me books which treat directly on the subject of my in- tended pursuit. I have, also, been attending Dr. Brown's lectures on the philosophy of the mind. "Yours truly,
" T. H. GALLAUDET.'
Extract from Letter to Dr. Mason F. Cogswell.
" Edinburgh. " Dear Sir, — I feel peculiar satisfaction in having been introduced to Dugald Stewart, Esq., and how do you think I found access to him ? It was by means of Juha Brace, the little deaf, dumb, and blind girl, the importance of visiting whom I so strongly urged upon you, as you no doubt recollect. I had mentioned her case to Dr. Buchanan, one of the clergymen of this place, observing that I should much like to communi- cate the facts respecting her to Mr. Stewart. He hap- pened soon to be in town, and Dr. B. introduced me to him. I was invited to spend a day and night in his family at Kinneil House, about eighteen miles distant. I did so a few days since, and left with him an account of Juha Brace, in which he appeared to be much in-
52 LIFE AND LABORS OF
terested. It will be some time before I can make my final arrangements here. I rejoice, however, that I came to Edinburgh. The men of science have taken a deep interest in the instruction of the deaf and dumb. I am now reading the Abbe* Sicard's system in French, by way of preparation, in case I should visit him in Paris. I hope my friends in Hartford will continue to remember me in their prayers, that I may be carried through this arduous undertaking successfully. I long to return. I feel more and more satisfied, that the sim- ple, quiet, retired path of duty, in which we can in some way or other serve God and do good to the bodies and souls of men, is the only path of peace. Oh, that we might all be enabled to walk in it ! During the short time that I have been in Edinburgh, I have seen objects and formed acquaintances, which, on the other side of the water, would in prospect have filled my soul with the most splendid visions of delight. To tread this classic ground, to be in the Athens of the world, and even to have intercourse with some of its greatest philosophers and literati — all this would promise much; but it has all served to convince me that nothing can satisfy the immortal mind but God himself; and that so long as we divide our hearts between Him and any other object, so long there must be a tumult of wretched- ness in our breasts. May Almighty God continue to bless you all with every temporal and spiritual good " Truly yours,
"T. H. GALLAUDET."
EEV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 53
To the same.
" Edinburgh.
" My Dear Sir, — I expect to set out for Paris in a few days. I am sure of success there — I mean accord- ing to all human probability. How long it will take me to become acquainted with the Abbe's s}rstem is uncertain, but you shall hear from me after my arrival. The political state of France is gloomy. "What scenes I shall witness in Paris I know not. To God I com- mend myself, and it is my earnest request that my good friends in Hartford would remember me in their prayers.
" To-day I had an interview with Zachariah Macaulay, Esq., editor of the Christian Observer. Miss Hannah More was kind enough to send me a letter of introduc- tion to him. I spend next Sabbath at his house at Clapham, about four miles from town. It has just come to my mind to inform you that I left with Dugald Stewart an account that I drew up of Julia Brace. I wish you, if you can find time to visit her often, to furnish me with a more particular description of her case, particularly in a medical point of view, with re- gard to the nature and progress of the complaint by which she lost her hearing ; and also the present state of her eyes and ears, and under what particular malady they labor. I want to send such intelligence either to Mr. Stewart or Dr. Gordon. I do hope, if the thing is practicable, that either yourself, or some other person, will do what can be done to instruct this little unfor- tunate, by attempting to teach her the names of objects by a tangible alphabet. If she likes, I am resolved to have her under my immediate care. This is one of the
54: LIFE AND LABORS OF
only two cases of the kind known in the world ; and while James Mitchell has attracted, and continues to attract the attention of the first philosophers in Europe, it would be a disgrace to our country, to its philosoph- ical character, and to its character for benevolence, to suffer an unhappy female, whose situation is, if pos- sible, more interesting than Mitchell's, to grow up un- heeded and neglected.
I rejoice to hear that you are all in comfortable health, and I long more and more to see your dear family. May Almighty God bless you with the best of his blessings, those spiritual ones which are in Christ Jesus. Oh, my clear sir, the more I see of the world, the more I become acquainted with my own heart, the more implicitly do I wish to rely on the merits of Christ alone for acceptance with God, and the more firmly do I believe that nothing can keep us in the friendship of God but the continual influences of his Spirit. Man is most helpless, and sinful, and miser- able. God is the source of all good and happiness. This truth I feel more sensibly every day. Oh, impress it on the minds of your dear children ; for young and amiable as they are, they must be renewed in the tem- per of their minds, before they can become the friends of God. Perhaps I am indulging too much freedom ; but I know you will forgive me when you think from whom it proceeds — from one whose affection to your- self, and lady, and dear family, will never be abated on this side of the grave. My best love to you all.
Adieu !
" T. H. GALLAUDET."
REV. THOS. U. GALLAUDET. * 55
From Miss Hannah More.
" Barley Wood, near Bristol, August 30th, 1815.
"Kev. Sir, — Your very obliging and interesting letter would not have remained so long unacknowl- edged, but that the pacquet which inclosed it did not reach my hands till lately. Of my high opinion of Miss Huntley's talents and piety I shall say the less to you, as I shall thank her separately for her kind pres- ent, and shall also write a line to Mr. Wadsworth, both of which I trust, sir, you will have the goodness to convey to their respective addresses. I shall also beg the favor of your calling on my bookseller, Mr. Hatch- ard, 190 Picadilly, and deliver him the inclosed note. You will be so kind as to charge yourself with one of the copies of my ■ Essay on Saint Paul ' to Miss Hunt- ley, as a present from the author ; the other copy you will please to accept yourself, as a slight testimony of my respect for your character, and for the truly benev- olent motive which brings you to England. I hope it will please God to bless your pious labors, and to make you an important instrument of good in this way to your fellow-creatures, as I find by your friend you are providentially hindered by bad health from the ex- ercise of your more immediate professional duties. I pray God to give a blessing to your very meritorious undertaking !
"It just occurs to me, that it may be useful to you to have an introduction to Mr. Macaulay ; he is Editor of the Christian Observer, and is one of the most valua- ble, pious, and best informed men in this country, and I think takes an interest in the deaf and dumb.
"Should business bring you to Bristol, I shall be
56 LIFE AND LABORS OF
very glad to see you. My house is about eleven miles from thence.
"I am, sir, with respect, y'r very obliged,
"HAN. MOKE."
From Daniel Wadsworth, Esq.
" Hartford, Oct. 20th, 1815.
"My Dear Sir, — The day before yesterday your letter came to hand, and under any circumstances I should have been much gratified by such a mark of your remembrance, but feel particularly so at this time, when I perceive that you have made an exertion amidst cares, disappointments, and ill health, to oblige and entertain a distant friend, who had no claim to any sacrifice of time or health. I will enter into no par- ticulars on the subject of your views, farther than to express my regret at your disappointments and vexa- tions ; leaving all details to those gentlemen who have corresponded with you on the business, and who take the direction of it here. I lament your ill health, and consequent low spirits ; I hope brighter prospects will soon dawn upon you, and that they will bring with them all those good physical effects which usually ac- company a mind at ease.
"I am not surprised at the painful impressions you receive from witnessing the poverty and vice which are to be met with in Great Britain, and, indeed, in all European countries. To Americans of every charac- ter, and most assuredly to you, these scenes must occa- sion no small shock — and perhaps it is not lessened by perceiving with how much indifference our transatlantic acquaintance behold such monuments of sorrow and
REV. TIIOS. II. GALLAUDET. 57
infamy. Our own country presents so different a pic- ture of moral virtue and domestic comfort among the lower classes, that I think we have no reason to be unhappy in noticing the pride of the English in their imagined consequence, or in that real superiority in arts, letters, and political prowess which we are willing to allow. Whatever is great, venerable, or splendid, may doubtless be found in England. But there is a re- verse to the picture, of which those who have lived only in our vigorous country, where everything is either in its bud or its prime, cannot conceive. This reverse exhibits such extremes of vice, folly, and suffering as are only to be found under old established govern- ments, in countries loaded with a great population, and side by side with splendor, power, and wisdom. Your reflections are very natural on the useless extent of St. Paul's, and the possible good which the vast sum expended in building it might have done if appropri- ated to the relief of the thirty thousand beggars that throng the streets of London. But, perhaps, to pre- vent our judging too severely on this subject, we should call to mind the numberless families who were incited to industry, and supported for years in comfort, while this building was erecting. We may recollect, too, that while the English have been almost boundless in their munificence, in founding and supporting charita- ble institutions, poverty has so increased as to render it extremely doubtful whether most good or evil has been the consequence of those admirable exertions, and rendered it certain that almost every plan of be- nevolence, intended as a mere relief to poverty, which has not the promotion of knowledge and industry for its basis, is worse than none. Possibly you might not 3*
58 LIFE AND LABORS OF
think so unfavorably even of the extent of St. Paul's, if, in better health and spirits, you should attend the annual celebration of the London charity schools, and see six thousand children arranged on rising seats under that fine dome, uniting their voices in praising their Great Benefactor, who has saved them from vice and suffering, and placed before them the way and means of salvation — surrounded by tens of thousands of spectators and worshipers — while tears of devotion are seen to flow from the eyes of many, and of sympa- thy from all.
" Our religious privileges here are indeed great, and no day passes over my head without bringing with it much, regret that, on my part, they are so poorly im- proved, and many fears for the consequences of such cold and blind neglect. I am gratified at the wishes you express, to be once more within the sphere of the same, and surrounded by your old friends ; and I am very sure that you would both receive and communi- cate advantages, such as we who are left behind, cold and thoughtless as we are, are perversely incapable of.
"Permit me particularly to thank you for }*)ur kind and Christian wishes. May the spirit of God be with him who expresses and him who is a subject of them, and his grace render them a source of good to both.
" That you may be blessed with health, and above all, with that peace which is the fruit of Christian faith and Christian hope, is the prayer of your "Affectionate friend,
" DANIEL WADSWORTH."
REV. TIIOS. H. GALLAUDET. 59
Mr. Gallaudet to Mr. Woodbridge.
" London, March 4th, 1816. "My Dear Sir, — To-morrow morning, with the leave of Providence, I expect to commence my jour- ney to Paris. I am quite overcharged with letters of introduction. Our minister, Mr. Adams, has given me two or three valuable ones. I have also one to the Abbe Sicard, from a friend of his. I do most earnestly hope that this, my intended visit to France, may qualify me better than I could have been qualified in any other way for usefulness on my return, and particularly among the deaf and dumb. I have no doubt God has had wise reasons for throwing some obstacles, hitherto, in my way. I am sure, and I can say it with some humble confidence, that I feel more sensibly than I ever did before my entire dependence on him. Oh, that we could surrender ourselves more entirely to his service ! I often think of Deacon Beck- with's advice, that ' we ought to be willing to work by the day ! ' Sometimes my poor weak head is almost turned with the various things that I must bear in mind and do, in the course of my movements from place to place ; but I never feel happier than when I make out a sort of plan in the morning of what I am sensible must be done during the day. I implore the guidance and blessing of God, and commence the business of the day without taking much thought for the morrow. I am sure Christians fail in not trusting God enough. According to my little experience, I feel satisfied that he is very faithful to support and direct us, when we cast all our care upon him and labor in his service. I know not what is before me
60 LIFE AND LABORS OF
in France ; but I know one thing, that if God vouch- safe his presence, it matters nothing with what scenes I am surrounded. If it be his will, I do long soon to be prepared to return to home. This ' seeing the world ' is a very pretty thing in prospect, but the world soon sickens to the taste. For what do you see in it ? A complicated mass of wretchedness and sin. I confess it is delightful to witness what is doing to relieve this misery, and to see what is done in this country.
"T. H. G."
Extract from a Letter to Mr. Woodbridge.
" Paris, March 14th, 1816.
" Dear Sir, — I dare say you are often thinking what a delightful excursion I must be making, and what a rich feast of novelty I must have continually spread before me. It is far otherwise. I am not dis- gusted with life. While God chooses to continue me in the world I know it is best for me ; nor do I think that life is without its enjoyments ; but I begin to real- ize that these enjoyments cannot be found, even in the gratification alone of what is called taste, in reading the finest authors ; in mingling with the most learned and elegant ; in viewing the choicest scenery of nature, or the most admirable productions of the pencil ; in seeing new countries, and customs, and habits ; ' for this also is vanity.'
" What are hours spent in these pursuits, compared with the enjoyments of the humblest cottager that has the light of God's countenance upon his soul, and who improves, for the glory of the Savior and the good of those around him; the one talent which may have
REV. TIIOS. IT. GALLAUDET. Gl
been committed to his charge. I do assure you it has perplexed me not a little, since I have been abroad, to determine how much time I could conscientiously de- vote to the observation of what is considered rare and curious. Public amusements I have abstained from entirely ; and the temptation to forget divine things is so great, when one once begins, even for a day or two, to make a business of seeing what is to be seen, that I declare to you, with my present feelings, were it not that I thought that my usefulness might be diminished by my returning home ignorant of what all travelers speak of, I would not put myself out of the way to see one of the wonders of this wonderful city. It is hard, I know, to hit the middle course, but it is always safest to keep as far as possible from the world and its influ- ence. The precepts of our Savior were very explicit on this subject, and I do fear that the little external distinction that exists at the present day, between Christians and others, is a great injury to the cause of the Kedeemer. A fine edition stereotype of the New Testament is now printing here for the Protestants, and another for the Catholics. Oh ! how this poor heathen people want the Bible and the Sabbath ! "Will my own country ever lose them through its corruption and vice ? My heart bleeds at the possibility of this. My dear sir, you read of the depravity of morals here. You talk of it and of your own privileges in Connecti- cut ; but you don't realize these things ; you cannot, without being an eye witness of them. I often think of your fireside, while musing solitary by my own. When shall I be with you and with your dear family, and with my deaf and dumb children ? I pray God to give me strength to adhere to the prosecution of my
02 LIFE AND LABORS OF
object, whatever difficulties maybe in the way; and pray him to shed down upon you and yours his kind- est protection and his richest blessings.
"T. H. G."
To Alice Cogswell.
" Paris, March 24th, 1816. " My Dear Alice, — When I was in Edinburgh, I wrote some letters to you, and I sent you a letter from Ellen Hall. She is a scholar at the school for the deaf and dumb. I hope you will get her letter. You must remember to answer it. You said, in the letter which you wrote to me, that you want to see me back in one year. I want very much to go back to Hart- ford, and begin to instruct you and the other deaf and dumb children, but I shall stay here some time, I do not know how long. I must learn all that the Abbe Sicard can teach me, and then I shall be able to teach you in the best way. Do you now learn any verses in the Bible, and any hymns or psalms ? Do you often think about £k>d ? Do you pray to him to make you good, and to make you ready to go to heaven when 3^ou die ? Do not forget to do this every morning and evening.
" From your true friend,
« T. H. G."
" Postscript. — All the streets in Paris are paved with round stone, and when it rains, the streets are very muddy, and there are no sidewalks. Everybody must take great care that the chaises and coaches do not run over them. I would rather live in Hartford than Paris. You would be very sorry to see the Sabbath
REV. TIIOS. II GALLAUDET. 63
kept so badly in Paris. Most of the shops are open, and people buy and sell goods, and the theatres are open, and but few people go to church, particularly in the afternoon. How sorry we ought to be for such a people, and to thank God that it is not so in Con- necticut.
" T. H. G."
Extract from a Letter to Dr. Cogswell.
" Paris, April 11th, 1816.
u My Dear Sir, — The ' Comet ' has delayed sailing, and I embrace the last opportunity I have of writing you by her. My first wish is, that yourself and family particularly, and dear Alice above all, should be truly grateful to God for the great kindness with which he is enabling me to prosecute my undertaking. Do ex- plain this thought to Alice, and let her understand that I feel that God alone has conducted me in all my steps ; that he has led me by the hand as you sometimes lead her. I fear continually, lest I should lose this sense of gratitude myself. But I do hope that God will con- descend to keep me sensible of my absolute and con- stant dependence on him. If I am permitted to conduct my difficult enterprise to that result to which we look forward with some sanguine expectation, to Him, and to his son Jesus Christ, who is Lord of this lower world, be all the glory.
11 How long must I stay here ? I cannot tell you. I shall stay till I make thorough work, if my life and health are spared, and God continues to bless my labors. I fear it will be next spring before you see me ; but, if I can return sooner — I hardly dare think
64 LIFE AND LABORS OF
of it, the thought is so delightful to me ; for, be assured, no one wants me back more than I want to be with you. From religious privileges and social enjoyment I am almost entirely cut off ; and what is the gayety of Paris to me ? As a philosopher, and I hope as a Christian, I despise it. No ! the flow of the Connecti- cut river, and the fields on its banks, and the good old manners of those who dwell on its borders, and a ser- mon or two from Dr. Strong, and some social ease among my friends, and a seat at your fireside, outweigh all the pomp, and splendor, and gayety, and novelty, and science of this proudest of European cities. I do thank God that a sight of the world has taught me more of its vanity, and that you — you — who are quiet at home, are of all men those to be most envied.
" Yours truly,
" T. H. G."
From William J. Inns.
" Edinburgh, May 29th, 1816. " Dear Sir, — I have duly received your two kind letters. Allow me to express the pleasure I feel in learning that in Paris you are likely to obtain the benevolent object of your visit to Europe. What you say of the attainments of Abbe Sicard's pupils, is one of the best proofs of the excellence of his system. I regret you have not been here these two weeks past. We have had the annual meeting of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and some very able debates in it. The principal one took place last Wednesday, when the subject of discussion was whether, according to the constitution of the Church,
REV. TIIOS. H. GALLAUDET. 65
it was lawful to connect a living with, a chair in one of the universities. Dr. Chalmers spoke with the most powerful eloquence against pluralities, maintain- ing that every clergyman had quite enough to do, if he faithfully discharged his duty in attending to the spiritual interests of his people.
" Mr. Jeffrey, the editor of the Edinburgh Eeview, heard him, and was so struck with his eloquence, as to express a wish to be introduced to him. He was so, and on Monday night they supped together. This I consider an interesting anecdote, or perhaps you may call it literary ecclesiastical. May we not hope, that if no other good effect flows from it, the editor of so popular a work will at least be more cautious in throwing out insinuations against Christianity, when he is so struck with the superior talents of one at least of its decided advocates.
" Dr. Chalmers preached before the Lord High Com- missioner last Sabbath. The crowd was immense. All the judges and magistrates were present. The discourse, I understand, was peculiarly powerful and highly gratifying to all who heard it. " I am, as ever, my dear sir,
" Yours with very sincere esteem,
" WILLIAM J. INNS."
From Professor Silliman.
" New Haven, June 1st, 1816.
" My Dear Sir, — I was much, gratified by your
favor of January 20th, which, however, did not reach,
me till the first week in May. I had taken no small
interest in your enterprise, and had been regularly ac-
66 LIFE AND LABORS OF
quainted with your progress, or rather with jour dis- appointments, and was sorry to learn that, in a concern of genuine philanthropy, the scene of which was to be in a distant country, the sordid considerations of gain should interfere. In Paris, however, (where, I am re- cently informed, you have arrived,) 1 have no doubt, that through the influence of the Abbe Sicard, you will meet with every aid which the nature of the case admits.
"I am much obliged to my Edinburgh friends for their kind remembrance of me, and am gratified that you came in contact with so many whom I had known. The iron reign of the Corsican, prevented me from becoming personally acquainted with the men and things which now surround you ; and I am pleased that you enjoy opportunities which were denied to me.
" Mr. Wadsworth and Dr. D wight have received your respective communications, and been gratified by them.
u I am sensible that the demands upon you for let- ters, during your stay abroad, are numerous; but, should your time and health permit, I should be much gratified by hearing from you while in Paris. If you get time to step into the lecture rooms, cabinets, and laboratories of the physical sciences, I should be grati- fied to learn from you the present state of those sub- jects in France.
" Wishing you, my dear sir, complete success in your very important undertaking, and every blessing of time and eternity, I remain, very cordially,
" Your friend and servant,
" Mr. T. H. Gallaudet." « B. SILLIMAN.
I
EEV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 67
From Daniel Wadsivorth, Esq.
" Hartford, July 31st, 1816. " My Dear Sir, — I have two letters to thank you for, written in February and April, one of which reached me in May, and one in June. They are both before me at this moment, and demand my sincere ac- knowledgements. I am glad to learn from these letters that mine have reached you, and also to say in answer to your inquiries that the volumes from Miss More to Miss Huntley have arrived in safety, and were most gratefully received. I have been much gratified to perceive that Miss More appears to have none of that extreme caution which usually characterizes the Eng- lish in their intercourse with strangers. Her answer to my letter explaining who Miss Huntley was, and what her education had been, was in a style of unquestion- ing belief and candor, as was that to Miss Huntley ; and her kind introduction of you to Mr. Macaulay, seems to complete the character of this whole transaction as one of true Christian confidence and charity. Your acquaintance with that gentleman when you return to England will most assuredly be a source of great pleas- ure, and I hope and believe, you will find time to visit Miss More. If England abounds with such men and such women, I think evangelical sentiments must gain ground, at least where fashion and dissipation do not occupy the whole time of the well educated. Since they are beginning at Cambridge, they cannot fail to spread in every direction. I was much pleased with your account of your visit to that seat of learning, and with your journey to and residence in Edinburgh. It is indeed somewhat awkward to be acquainted with
t)5 LIFE AND LABORS OF
many whom you meet every day, but whose names you do not know. This is what I never before heard of in Scotch society ; but every day I feel a stronger inclination to visit that country myself. Even the an- tiquities of Italy, the splendor of Paris, and the arts and wealth of England, do not in me excite half the curiosity and interest as the wild scenes, honest hearts, and rough but cultivated minds, manners, and virtues to be found in Scotland. I wish, with all my heart, there were in our own country more people of the character you describe in England and Scotland, who hold so preeminent a rank in piety and virtue ; and that, both as a nation and as individuals, we could drop the absurd foppery of pretending to know all, and he all, that we neither understand or are. We might then, at least, have credit for what we are worth, while, by aiming at so much more, we are not allowed what is our just due. Your Cambridge acquaintance certainly may be considered as having shown a very extraor- dinary mark of civility, and at the same time did you a very great favor in giving you an original letter of Doctor Johnson's. I had rather be the possessor of such a letter, than of the head of the Apollo Belvi- dere.
" Considering the agreeable circumstances under which you now are, I almost rejoice at your early dis- appointments. It appears to me that I can distinctly see the hand of a Divine superintendent directing every event for the best ; and in this instance we have been permitted to perceive how all at which we were ready to repine, has been overruled by the production of nothing but good. All that relates to the object of your mission, you will probably hear from Dr. Cogs-
REV. TIIOS. FT. GALLAUDET. 69
well and those gentlemen who have usually corre- sponded with you on that subject.
" Adieu, my dear sir. May you be prospered in all you undertake ; and may your preaching in the city of Paris have an effect in proportion to the rarity with which truth is ever heard in that dissipated place. That God may ever bless you is the prayer of Mrs. "Wads- worth and myself.
" Yery affectionately your friend,
" DAXIEL TVADSWOKTH."
70 TIFE AND LABORS OF
CHAPTER III.
Mr. Gallaudet remained in Edinburgh till the 12th of February, 1816, when he left for London, where he arrived on the 17th, and stayed till the 5th of March ; then crossed the Channel, and reached Paris on the 9th. On the 13th, he wrote in his journal, " To-morrow, Mr. Warder promises to accompany me to the Abbe Sicard, for whom I have a letter of intro- duction from Z. Macaulay, Esq., of London. To Al- mighty God, I do desire, most fervently, to commit my undertaking at this juncture. May his blessing attend it, for Christ's sake." The next day he writes, " This morning, I called on the Abbe, and he promises to give me every facility."
]STo sooner said than done. Mr. Gallaudet entered immediately upon the regular course as a pupil, ad- vancing rapidly from class to class — from the lowest up to the highest, besides availing himself, daily, of private instruction; and what progress he made, ap- pears from the fact, that in less than three months, he had so far mastered the system, as to be prepared to come home, and put himself at the head of the con- templated asylum for deaf mutes in his own country. Three months, instead of three years, which was the shortest time in which the heads of the English and Scottish schools would undertake to fit him for the re-
REV. TI10S. IT. GALLAUDET. 71
sponsible task ! When and where did any other man ever qualify himself so well for teaching the language of pantomime, in so short a time ? And what makes it more remarkable is, that he regularly supplied the English pulpit in the chapel of the Oratoire, and preached that highly finished course of sermons, which were first published in London, and highly com- mended by some of the most competent judges abroad, as fine specimens of what sermons ought to be, in style, and in the clear and faithful presentation of evangelical truth.
Mr. Grallaudet was now ready and anxious to re- turn ; but as the branch of instruction for which he had been preparing himself, would be entirely new in this country, and more than one teacher would be wanted for a successful beginning, it became a serious question with him, where to find a well qualified assistant. It must be in Paris or Great Britain, if anywhere; and a kind Providence had been raising up the very teacher in the asylum which had so gene- rously received him, and lavished upon him all its advantages.
He had no hesitation on whom to fix his choice. Laurent Clerc, one of the two principal assistants of the Abbe Sicard, was the very man. But would the Abbe consent to spare him, and would he be per- suaded to go ? It was scarcely to be expected ; but let Mr. Clerc tell us, in his own way, how He who has all hearts in his hands, and "turneth them whithersoever he will," brought it to pass. Eeferring back to their first meeting in London, to which allu- sion has already been made, he says —
" It was at the close of one of our public lectures,
l
72 LIFE AND LABORS OF
that Mr. Gallaudet was introduced to me for the first time, by M. Sicard. We cordially shook hands with him, and on being told who he was, where he came from, and for what purpose, on being further informed of the ill success of his mission in England, we earn- estly invited him to come to Paris, assuring him that every facility would be afforded him to see our Insti- tution, and attend our daily lessons. He accepted the invitation, and said he would come in the ensuing spring. "We did not see him any more, as we left London soon afterwards. In the spring of 1816, ac- cording to his promise, he came to Paris, and glad were we to see him again. • He visited our Institution almost daily. He began by attending the lowest class, and from class to class he came to mine, which was the highest. I had; therefore, a good opportunity of seeing and conversing with him often; and the more I saw him, the more I liked him ; his counte- nance and manner pleased me greatly. He frequented my school-room; and one day requested me to give him private lessons, of an hour, every day. I could receive him but three times a week, and he came with punctuality, so great was his desire of acquiring the knowledge of the language of signs, in the shortest time possible. I told him, nevertheless, that however diligent he might be, it would require at least six months, to get a tolerably good knowledge of signs, and a year, for the method of instruction, so as to be well qualified to teach thoroughly. He said he feared it would not be in his power to stay so long, and that he would reflect, and give me his final decision by and by. In the mean time, he continued coming to receive his lesson; and we spoke no more of how
REV. TITOS. H. GALLAUDET. 73
long he could stay, till the middle of May, when taking a favorable occasion, he intimated to me, that he wished very much he could obtain a well edu- cated deaf and dumb young man.
"I named two who had left our Institution a few years since, that I knew would suit him, as they had some knowledge of the English language, whereas I had none at all ; but he answered, that he had already made his choice, and that I was the person he pre- ferred. Greatly astonished was I, for I had not the least expectation that I should be thought of. After a short pause I said I would not hesitate to go, if I could do it properly. I suggested to him the idea of speaking or writing to the Abbe Sicard on the subject, as I considered myself engaged to the Abbe. He said he would write, and accordingly did so ; but, although his letter was never answered, we both in- ferred that M. Sicard's silence was rather favorable than otherwise. But, in order to ascertain his views, I was requested to sound him. Accordingly, I called and inquired, in the most respectful manner, whether he had received Mr. G's letter, and if so, what answer he had returned. I received but an evasive answer to my question ; for he abruptly asked me why I wished to leave him. My reply was simply this, that I could leave him for a few years without loving him the less for it, and that I had a great desire to see the world, and especially to make my unfortunate fellow beings, on the other side of the Atlantic, par- ticipate in the same benefits of education that I had myself received from him. He seemed to appreciate my feelings; for, after some further discussions, he finished by saying that he would give his consent, 4
74 LIFE AND LABORS OF
provided I also obtained the consent of my mother, my father being dead. I said I would ask her, if he would permit me to go home. Accordingly I made my preparations, and started for Lyons on the first of June, after having promised Mr. Gallaudet to return in a few days before the appointed time for our voyage. I thought I was going agreeably to surprise my dear mother — for she never imagined, poor woman, that I could come to see her except during my vacation, which usually took place in September — but I was myself much more surprised when, on my arrival, she told me she knew what I had come for ; and on my inquiring what it was, she handed me a letter she had received from M. Sicard the preceding day. On read- ing it, I found that he had altered his mind, and written to dissuade my mother from giving her con- sent, saying he could not spare me. Accordingly my mother urged me hard to stay in France, but to no purpose. She gave her consent with much reluctance, and said she would pray God every day for my safety, through the intercession of La Sainte Vierge.
" I bade herself, my brothers and sisters and friends, adieu, and was back in Paris on the 12th of June; and the next day after, having taken an affectionate leave of the good Abbe Sicard, who had been like a father to me, I went also to bid my pupils good by. The day following, the 14th of June, I was en route for Havre, with Mr. Gallaudet and our much honored friend S. Y. S. Wilder, Esq. On the 18th of June Ave embarked on board the ship Mary Augusta, Capt. Hall, and arrived at New York on the 9th of August, 1816. After a short stay in New Haven, we took the stage for Hartford, where we arrived in the afternoon
REV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 75
of the 2 2d of August. We alighted at Dr. Cogswell's, in Prospect street. We found Mrs. Cogswell alone at home with her daughters, excepting Alice, who was then at school under Miss Lydia Huntley. She was immediately sent for, and when she made her appear- ance, I beheld a very interesting little girl. She had one of the most intelligent countenances I ever saw. We conversed by signs, and we understood each other very well, so true is it that the language of signs is universal, and as simple as nature. I had left many objects and persons in France endeared to me by asso- ciation, and America, at first, seemed uninteresting and monotonous, and I sometimes regretted leaving my native land ; but on seeing Alice, I had only to recur to the object which had induced me to seek these shores, to contemplate the good we were going to do, and sadness was subdued by an approving
MISCELLANEOUS LETTERS AFTER MR. GALLAU- DET'S RETURN.
Dr. Chalmers to Mr. Gallaudet.
" Glasgow, Feb. 13, 1816. " My Dear Sir, — I received your letter of yester- day's date, and am greatly pleased and interested in the information contained in it, and am so desirous of having a sight of one of the pamphlets taken notice of by you, that 1 have ventured to avail myself of your very kind permission to write for one of them from London. Yours with esteem,
"THOS. CHALMERS."
76 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Extract from a Letter of Zachary Macaulay, Editor of the ' Christian Observer.''
" London, April 16, 1816.
" My Dear Sir, — I have been favored with your in- teresting letter of the 2d of December. And, if I durst assume myself any of the merit you attribute to the Christian Observer, I should be tempted to an ela- tion not very consistent with my pretensions, and not very conducive to the growth of those humbling and self-abasing views of both my moral and intellectual acquirements, which the added experience of each suc- ceeding day convinces me, it is both my wisdom and my duty to cultivate. If that work has been made instrumental, through the Divine blessing, as I trust it has in some measure, in recommending real Christian- ity to the regards of some intelligent individuals, who had previously overlooked its claims, the credit is due, as far as any is due to human instrumentality, not to him whose functions were merely editorial, but to those informing minds who supplied him with the materials for selection.
Your work, though finished to-day, will not be pub- lished till to-morrow. I have a confident expectation that these sermons will do much good, both in this country and in America. As a specimen of American theology and American taste, I think it will be found to rank high ; but I have no doubt that it will subserve more important purposes than merely marking the progress of literary improvement ; and that, with the blessing of God, it may be the means of producing sal- utary convictions in the minds of many, and promot- ing the edification of many more.
REV. THOS. n. GALLAUDET. 77
';I rejoice in the continued success of your Institu- tion. Your paper on 'Emulation,' is likely to appear in the Christian Observer. I pray }'OU continue your very interesting details of the progress of }'our Insti- tution and kindred institutions around you. I remain, dear Sir, with real regard and esteem,
11 Yours very faithfully,
" Z. MACAULAY."
From Dr. Chalmers.
" Glasgow, Dec. 14th, 1816.
" My Dear Sir, — I received your obliging commu- nication of August 13th. I am greatly delighted with your information relative to the progress and the re- vival of Christianity in your land. I think that upon taking a comparative view of the state of religion here at present, with what it was ten years ago, that there is a decided improvement ; that evangelical Christianity is rising into a greater estimation with literary men. \Vhat is of more consequence still, that it is more justly appreciated by the dispensers of patronage, and that there is now a reflnx from that cold, heathenish, clas- sical style of pulpit dissertation which was so preva- lent in this country during the last generation, to the warm, and the peculiar, and the pious Christianity of the New Testament.
" Let it be understood, however, that every observa- tion as to the progress of vital religion, is greatly more applicable to England than to this part of our empire ; and it delights me to understand that, within the bosom of that great hierarchy, there is forming a body of earn- est, and useful, and evangelical preachers, who, how-
78 LIFE AND LABORS OF
ever derided for their fanaticism by the scoffers of the day, will, I trust, be the instruments of extensive good to the English population.
" It is my prayer that you may go on and prosper ; that the sacred cause of the Gospel, with all its blessed effects on the prosperity of families and the peace of nations, may make progress every year in the world, and that the time may soon come when the whole human race shall be formed into one brotherhood of faith and* charity.
" I shall always be glad to hear from you.
" I am, my dear sir, yours most truly,
" THOS. CHALMERS."
The same to the same.
" Glasgow, March 2nd, 1817.
" My Dear Sir, — I beg leave to transmit for your acceptance a volume of sermons, published by me within these few days.
"I received all the pamphlets about the Peace Society, and also your volume of sermons. I am compelled to say that I have, as yet, been able to look very little into either of them. I am glad to under- stand that your volume has been very favorably noticed in the Observer. But really, for myself, I am so excessively engrossed, and I am so miserably in arrears, both with unread books, and unanswered letters, that I must for some time store it unread. I have been sadly pressed to take an active part in the business of a Peace Society established here- This I cannot do, and all that I can possibly afford in behalf of this object, is my testimony in its favor.
KEY. TIIOS. II. GALLAUDET. 79
"I had, not many weeks ago, an application from Mr. Farquhar Gordon, of Edinburgh, for }~our sermon and report on the subject of the deaf and dumb. He had not seen them at that time. And I have, since I sent them, had another letter in which he fully exculpates you. I have heard that he was the author of the article against you in the Instructor, though I do not think that it is at all in harmony with the temper and principles of the man.
"I cordially acquiesce in all you say about the dangers of conformity. I at one time thought, that much would be done to conciliate the support of worldly men to the good cause, could its accommoda- tion to the interests of civil society be cunningly held out to them. I am now far less sanguine of any good from their cooperation, and am veering towards the opinion, that the more broadly our aspect of peculiarity and separation is flashed upon the public e}^e, so much the better. Let us not partition this matter, or give countenance to the doctrine that there is any compatibility between the spirit of the Gospel, and the spirit of natural and unconverted men. At the same time I rejoice in the belief, that Christ- ianity is making progress ; that evangelical statements are more tolerated by the public at large, and are entering with demonstration and power into a great number of individual hearts ; that the national impulse at present, is on the side of religious education ; and, that amid the conflict and operation of all the elements of darkness, there is the element of grace, working and growing, and making such progress, as will at length subordinate, and like the rod of Aaron, swallow up all the others.
80 LIFE AND LABORS OF
"It is my earnest prayer, in your behalf, that as you have experienced the fulfillment of the one saying, 'In the world ye shall have tribulation,' so you may experience the fulfillment of the other, c that io Christ ye shall have peace.' May this peace rest in your heart, and the world will not take it away. Do, my dear sir, pray for the entire simplification of your aim. ' Let your eye be single, and your whole body shall be full of light.' Oh, at what a distance do I feel from the principle of doing all things for the glory of God, and in the name of Jesus.
"I perhaps, may mislead you by the statement I have given you respecting our Institution for the deaf and dumb. It has been some little time in operation, and I do not know that their method is the very one of Mr. Braid wood. But it is a method which, it is hoped, will be found effectual.
" I am, my dear Sir, yours most truly,
"THOMAS CHALMEKS.
"P. S. Your observations respecting the philosophy of mind, as illustrable by the phenomena of education in your seminary, are highly and strikingly just. And this suggests to me the mention of a work just now published, by Thomas Brown, professor of moral philosophy, Edinburgh, on Cause and Effect. I used to admire his former pamphlet on this subject, and I am prepared to expect a very profound and accurate exposition of this subtle and interesting argument. I have just begun to read it, and I think you will like it, not merely as a characteristic of, but as highly creditable to the Scottish metaphysical school.
" Yours, &c. « T. C."
REV. TIIOS. II. GALLAUDET. 81
To Mr. Wilder, on the eve of sailing for France.
" Hartford, March 24th, 1817.
"My dear Friend,— Since Mrs. "W. left here, I Lave been daily intending to write you ; but consider- able indisposition, much business, and many anxieties have prevented. You will know how to excuse me.
" You will, I trust, undertake, in concert with Cap- tain Hall, the duty of daily prayer on board the ship, and of service on the Sabbath by reading a sermon. Do not shrink from this by saying you are unequal to the task. God will assist }^ou if you set about it, rely- ing on his strength ; and it will give you and your dear family a composure and peace of mind, a reliance in Providence, and an antidote to danger, which you will not be able to procure in any other way. A few Bibles, too, and tracts to distribute among the sailors, will furnish you with an opportunity of doing some good. My dear friend, these are the tests of our love to Jesus Christ. The more I see of my own heart, the more I am persuaded of this truth, that it has become so honorable of late to do good, that it requires no great sacrifice to be engaged in public efforts of benevolence ; but the question a Christian has to ask himself is, How much do I do for the souls of those with whom I am daily associated, and in benefiting whom, no eye will see me but that of God ?
" I do most ardently wish you and your dear wife and child and mother, the protection and blessing of God, and, above all, the grace of his son Jesus Christ, to guard you against the new and unexpected trials and temptations which you will undoubtedly have to en- counter in France. Do not, my dear friend, do not let 4*
82 LIFE AND LABORS OF
any motive of curiosity, or civility to others, suffer you to encroach upon the Sabbath. God will bless those who observe his ordinances, and the due observance of his sacred day has, I believe, more than anything else, a tendency to keep us in his fear during the week.
" I shall not cease to remember you at the throne of grace, and do not forget me ; for I, too, have cares and trials and temptations before me. Clerc is preparing some more letters. Do let me hear from you soon. Give my best regards to your lady and her mother, and may God bless your little ones.
" Yours affectionately,
"T. H. GALLAUDET."
From E. Kinniburgh.
" Edinburgh, May 1st, 1817. 11 My dear Sir, — Yours, dated 4th of January, came to hand about the month of February. An in- stitution has been formed at Dublin, since you were here, but our London friends still act on the same il- liberal plan. An application was made to them to give instruction to a man who meant to devote himself partly to the work of teaching the deaf and dumb, but it was rejected, of course. However, he has begun ; and although he must have many difficulties to surmount, yet I hope he will succeed. Mrs. Kinniburgh and family join me in best wishes for your prosperity, both in spiritual and temporal concerns. Believe me to be " Yours most affectionately,
"R. K."
EEV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 83
From Mr. Maco.ulay.
'•London, Sept. 16th, 1817.
"My Dear Sir, — On my return to town, about a fortnight ago, I had the pleasure to receive a letter from you, conveying much gratifying intelligence re- specting the progress of your beneficent institution, for the temporal and spiritual benefit of the hitherto neg- lected objects of your care. I trust it is under His special superintendence who honoreth those who honor him, and whose blessing alone is sufficient to crown with success efforts begun in his fear and directed to his glory. May multitudes of those, whose ears you are opening, and whose tongues you are loosing, prove your crown of joy and rejoicing in the presence of their Savior.
"I have sent your letter to Miss H. More, and she has not yet returned it. I fear, therefore, that I may omit some point in it, to which I ought to have replied. I was unwilling to deny her the gratification which the perusal of it could not fail to afford her, and which it did afford the editor of the Christian Observer, who cannot but regard it as a striking demonstration of the power and goodness of God, that he should employ so very unworthy an instrument as himself, in build- ing up, in however low and menial a degree, the Church which he hath purchased with his blood.
11 1 beg to renew my assurance of the pleasure it will always give me to hear from you ; and, especially, to hear of the prosperity of that admirable undertaking to which you have devoted your talents.
" Mrs. Macaulay unites with me in kind regards and best wishes. I always am my clear Sir,
"Yours, very truly, «Z. MACAULAY."
84 LIFE AND LABORS OF
From Miss Hannah More.
"Barley Wood, near Bristol, 28th April, 1818. "Eev. and dear Sir, — I would not return you my thanks for your kind letter and very valuable volume, till I had nearly finished reading your admirable Ser- mons.* You are not one of that numerous class of authors whom it is prudent and safe to thank for their books before one has looked into them, as the only way of preserving both one's veracity and good breeding. I declare my judgment is not bribed by your too flattering and most undeserved dedication, when I assure you, I think ' The Discourses ' are of a very superior cast. Though deeply serious, they are perfectly uninfected with any tincture of the errors of a certain new school in theology. Your style and manner are in thorough good taste, a garb in which I delight to see sound divinity arrayed. By the bless- ing of God, I trust they will do much good. The cir- cumstances, too, under which they were delivered, as well as the place, make them still more interesting to the reader. I was going to point out to you the ser- mons with which I was particularly pleased ; but I found the recapitulation would be almost universal. I would not except any. I was charmed and deeply affected with the sweet letter of my dear little dumb correspondent, f What heartfelt joy, dear sir, must it afford you to have been the honored instrument of rescuing this, and so many other forlorn little creatures from a state of almost nonentity ! ( In-
* Preached in Paris, and first published in England, f Alice Cogswell.
EEV. TIIOS. IT. GALLAUDET. 85
asmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these, ye have done it to me,' says our divine Master.
"I have taken the liberty to convey to your hands, through Mr. Macaulay, a ten pound bank note, as a small token of my admiration of your admirable Institution, to be disposed of by you in such a way as your judgment shall direct for its benefit.
" We have had a most unhappy division in our church. The Bishop of Gloucester, my very dear and attached friend, the most exemplary, laborious, and devoted prelate on the bench, has been attacked in a most outrageous manner, while presiding at a missionary meeting at Bath, by a hot-headed bigot of the same diocese. It has become a sad party business, and all the really holy and pious clergy have been assailed in the grossest manner. It has pleased, however, Divine Providence to educe much good out of this temporary evil. Our bishops and clergy seem on a sudden to be awakened to the great and important duty of missions, and measures are about to be taken for their universal furtherance by those who have, hitherto, been the most actively hostile to the sacred cause of evangelizing the world. I pray for the peace of our Jerusalem, which has been sadly interrupted ; there will, however, always remain a stray party who are enemies to the cross of Christ.
"Adieu, my dear sir. May it please Him with- out whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy, nothing successful, to shower down his blessings on you, and on the great work you have, by so much labor, such perilous voyages, and such great difficulties, accomplished ; and may many of your pupils thank you in heaven for having been the favored instru-
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merit of bringing them thither. I remain, with sincere esteem,
" Your very faithful and obliged,
" H. MORE."
From Mr. Macaulay.
" London, May 6tli, 1818.
" My Dear Sir, — I have the pleasure to enclose a
letter from Miss Hannah More. She has desired me
also to send you £10 for your Institution. Permit me
to add £5 for myself. Be so good as to draw on me
for this sum at three days' sight ; and I will thank you,
if there should be any charge attending this transaction,
which would diminish its amount, to add the same to it
in the draft, so as to leave the entire sum for our deaf
and dumb friends.
" Yours, very truly,
" Z. MACAULAY."
Mr. Gdllaudet to Dr. Chalmers.
" Hartford, Sept. 29th, 1818. " My Dear Sir, — I have received your kind letter of the 4th of July. ... I thank you for the inter- est which you have taken with regard to the article in the Christian Instructor. A volume of discourses which I preached while in Paris, has lately been printed in London. I requested my friend there to send you a copy. I hope it lias reached you. I also beg you to accept an American copy of the same work, which will accompany this letter ; and I should deem
REV. THOS. IT. GALLAUDET. 87
it an act of peculiar friendship, if you would have the goodness to point out to me some of the most striking defects in my manner of thinking or writing, which will, I doubt not, soon present themselves even to your most cursory observation. Such a friendly criticism will be of great use to me, and I assure you I shall highly prize and duly improve it.
11 1 regret that the very feeble state of my health pre- vents me from enjoying the satisfaction I always take in writing you at some length. My cares multiply, and my novel employment has quite exhausted the little stock of animal spirits I once had. But I have great cause of gratitude to God, that he has conde- scended, as I trust, to bless some of my feeble efforts to do good to the deaf and dumb. I see myself sur- rounded by forty-four of these unfortunates, and among this number I find several who begin to take a deep interest in divine truth ; and one who gives very satisfactory evidence of having been born again.
"What you say of the importance of doing every- thing for Christ, came home to my bosom. How wretchedly do we conform to the customs of the world, and soothe ourselves with thinking that we yield a par- tial compliance to them, that we may insinuate our- selves into the favor of those who are out of Christ, and thus, as it were, take them captives to his king- dom by guile. If I may judge from my own heart, this is one of the greatest dangers to which Christians of the present day are exposed. The separation-line between the friends and enemies of Christ has lost its distinctness, and we venture upon forbidden ground, in hopes to take a prisoner, while we ourselves are too often the vanquished party.
»8 LIFE AND LABORS OF
" What an affecting spectacle did I witness this evening !
"Iwas conversing by signs with a little circle of my pupils on religions subjects, when the frequent sobs of a most interesting female met my ear. ' What is the matter ? ' ' Oh ! I am very wicked. I fear I shall always be so ! ' I endeavored to lead her to cast herself upon the Friend of Sinners. After our evening devotions, which I conduct by signs, I found her still weeping. I sat by her. She spelt the word ' re- pentingf and said she would go to her chamber and pray. Oh, may her prayers be heard ! Said another to me, 'If we are only some wicked, shall we go to hell?'
"My dear sir, pray for me, and let your prayer cor- respond with your kind, brotherly advice, 'that my eye may be single.' ' Shall I meet you in our Master's kingdom? I do long to tell you in person what a strong hold you have, not only on the unfeigned res- pect, but ardent affection of,
11 Yours in the Lord,
"T. H. GALLAUDET."
From Mr. Macaulay.
" London, 7th Nov. 1818. " My Dear Sir, — I immediately forwarded your letter to Miss More. I have not heard from her since — indeed there has scarcely been time ; but I cannot doubt that she will readily accede to your wish of having her likeness to adorn the library com- menced by her donation. She has, of late, been suf- fering from severe attacks of illness, which have pro-
REV. THOS. II. CALLAUDET. 89
duced a considerable prostration of her strength ; but her mind, amidst the infirmities of sickness and age, re- tains all its pristine vigor, and she labors to employ her remaining hours in elevating the views and aims of all around her, from earth to heaven.
" The luminous account you gave me of the superi- ority of the French mode of instructing the deaf and dumb over the English, you will already have seen in the pages of the Christian Observer.
"I should have been glad to have seen the speci- men of American typography which you have sent me ; but it was conveyed to me through the post- office, with a charge of £4 5s. on the cover. I have hesitated to pay this, and the packet is still unopened. Whatever is put up in the form of a letter, if it comes by the packet, pays the full packet postage of 8s. 8d. per oz., and if by a merchant ship, half the packet postage, besides the inland postage. I have, of late, had many such parcels addressed to me from America, which I have been obliged to decline receiving, on ac- count of the enormous expense attending them. Some of my American friends also choose to address their letters to me by name, as Editor of the C. 0. This alone forms a reason against receiving them. It would be a formal acknowledgement of a fact, which I have never acknowledged, except to some private friends, and which, indeed, is not known at all to vast multi- tudes in this country, and only surmised even by the religious world generally.
" I thank you for your kind inquiries respecting my son.* He is now in good health, and prosecuting
* Thomas Babington Macaulay, since known as the author of " The History of England," etc.
90 LIFE AND LABORS OF
his studies with ardor at the University of Cam- bridge. God has been pleased to endow him with very considerable powers of mind, and with a very strong desire for knowledge. My prayer — and indeed I am thankful to say, my hope is, that these may be sanctified and made subservient to his glory. I have many domestic blessings, for which I' am deeply in- debted to his goodness. Among the rest, the almost uninterrupted health which my wife and nine children have uniformly enjoj^ed, is to be counted not one of the least. I recollect only two occasions, during the twenty years of my married life, on which we have experienced any material alarm from illness. I am much concerned to find, that your health has been affected by your incessant and interesting labors. You ought, as a point of duty and conscience, to hus- band your strength, until, at least, you can find a sub- stitute capable of occupying your department of service, a life and strength so important to numbers of the most hapless of our fellow-creatures.
"I have, of late, been much occupied with the Congress at Aix-la-Chapelle. You will wonder at this. But the slave trade was my object. I have strong hopes that something effectual will be done, before the sovereigns separate, for that cause. I framed an address on the subject, which was put into their hands, and has been well received. The Emperor of Kussia read it, he said, with the most en- tire satisfaction. Tie perfectly approved of the pro- posal, to make slave trading piracy, and would do all in his power to effect this object. He gave copies of the address, with his own hand, to the kings and min- isters assembled. ' It was not to be endured,' he said,
REV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 91
4 that Portugal should continue to resist the united wishes of Europe, by retaining the trade for a single day after other nations had abandoned it. As for the miscreants who should continue it, after it had been universally reprobated, their only proper designation and punishment were those of pirates. I take shame to myself,' he added, 'before God, that we should have left this great work unfinished at Vienna, I now see, that we were guilty of a great and criminal omission, which must not be repeated. "When I con- sider what I owe to the kindness of Providence, in rescuing me and my people from the hand of the op- pressor, I should be the most ungrateful of men, if I did not labor, with all my might, to liberate those who groan under a worse oppression, and especially our wretched fellow-creatures in Africa.' This was saiil to a friend. Lord Castlereagh and the Duke of "Wellington are cordially cooperating with him.
" The Emperor spoke to the same friend, on the subject of the Peace Societies. He said, 'he could disapprove of no society which had for its object, to hasten the happy time, which he firmly believed would come, when nations should learn war no more. The great thing to be done, however, was rather to cure the passions which lead to war, than to declaim against war itself. He hoped to be able to induce the Gov- ernments of Europe to concur in some plan of arbi- trating their differences, which might supersede an appeal to arms ; it was impossible, however, to effect this suddenly.'
"In thinking over the utility of Peace Societies, both here and in America, it occurred to me, that there was a way in which they might be infinitely
92 LIFE AND LABORS OF
more beneficially employed, than in publishing general declamations against war and its evils. If our Peace Societies would take pains to correct all the misrepre- sentations and exaggerations, respecting the state of feeling towards us in America, and to produce kindly feelings towards her, by exhibiting the various cir- cumstances of a favorable kind, which might be noticed ; and if your Peace Societies were to pursue a similar conduct, with respect to this country, I can have no question, it would do more to preserve peace, and prevent war between the two countries, than all the general reasoning on the subject of war they either have employed or can employ. This would be a practical and practicable object. The pursuit of it would prove the sincerity of their professions and the strength of their principles ; and I think would make them popular in both countries.
" Mrs. Macaulay and my brother, the General, who is now with us, unite in every kind wish, and in all assurances of esteem and regard, with, My dear sir, " Yours, very sincerely,
" ZACHAEY MACAULAY.
11 1 beg you to remember me, with affection, to Dr. Muse and his son, when you come in their way."
From Mr. Kinniburgh.
" Edinburgh, May 8th, 1819. " Dear Sir, — It affords me much pleasure to find that your Institution is so prosperous, and I shall al- ways be happy to hear that your affairs succeed to your mind. I hope the good Lord will make you a blessing
EEV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 03
to many in America, by honoring you to be the instru- ment of conveying the knowledge of a Savior to those who otherwise must have remained ignorant of the way of salvation. I have to thank you for your sermons, which breathe the spirit of our Lord and Savior, whose you are, and whom you serve,
" There is a school at Dundee, and one is about to be opened at Aberdeen by a young man, who has been at Paris for a few months. One thing much to be lamented is, that some of the teachers neither know nor feel the power of religion, and, of course, will not take much pains in instructing their pupils in the things that belong to their peace. All the societies have sprung out of our visit to the different towns, showing what has been done here. I doubt much if our well- meant exertions will not ultimately hurt the cause of the deaf and dumb in this country. In a late publica- tion a plan is laid before the public for a deaf and dumb school in every parish ! One or two I consider enough for Scotland. I remain, with much esteem,
" Truly yours,
"R. KINNIBURGH."
From Josiah Pratt. " Church Missionary House, London, June 22d, 1819. "My dear Sir, — We duly received your letters of Nov. 4th and 23d. That of the 4th, was delivered by Mr. Hillhouse, of whom I regret that I have seen so little.
"I thank you sincerely for your valuable sermons, which will, I trust, do much good. Your account of "Mowhee," as being useful to your deaf and dumb
94 LIFE AND LABORS OF
pupils, much interested us. You will since have seen the account of Simeon Wilhelm, another converted heathen youth, dying in the faith of Christ, in our own country.
" We have great pleasure in sending a set of our reg- isters, and the Eeports, &c, of the Society, for the Mis- sionary Society formed among the students of Yale Col- lege. It gave us particular pleasure to hear of the establishment of such an institution ; and I will thank vou to assure those that are engaged in it, of our cor- dial good wishes, and sincere prayers in its behalf.
" We shall be obliged to you, to furnish us with regu- lar accounts of all proceedings for promoting mission- ary objects, that come within your reach, as we are anxious to tell our friends in England all that is doing in America, I am ever, dear sir,
"Very faithfully, Yours,
" JOSIAH PRATT."
From Mr. Macaulay.
" London.. October 9th, 1819. 16 George Street, Mansion House.
" My Dear Sir, — I received, two days ago, your letter of the 2nd of August, by Mr. Watkinson. He has not done me the favor to acquaint me with his address, so that I have had no opportunity of ac- knowledging his civility. I owe you a very heavy arrearage of correspondence. Three letters received previously to this remain unanswered, and my con- science has very often upbraided me with the omission. But the truth is, that the cares of a family, and the cares of business, when combined with various public
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 95
avocations, leave me very little time for the delight- ful, but in point of obligation, less urgent task of cultivating the intercourses of private friendship. Commercial engagements admit of no postponement. A family of nine children rising up to man and womanhood, whose minds are to be strengthened against temptation, whose habits are to be formed, and whose understandings are to be cultivated, require a large share of time. Bible societies, mission so- cieties, education societies, and African and Asiatic institutions press for a portion of attention. A variety of other claims, that cannot be gainsaid, are con- tinually presenting themselves. In the midst of these, the absent friend not being at hand to urge his claim is almost sure to be postponed. He is less clamorous, and although this should only make his claim the more respected, yet from a vice in our nature, I fear it produces a different effect. Thus it is, that week after week, and month after month pass, while the hie of unanswered letters is swelling to a mighty pile, and every time it meets the e}Te inflicts the pang of despair on the mind of the hopeless corres- pondent. I assure you I describe my case truly, and it is one which claims your pity, in which, indeed I am certain, you will cordially sympathize, for you also know what it is to be loaded with engao-ements, and to have the mind weakened and perplexed by them, while, perhaps, besides all this, some secret grief is preying upon the spirits, or some touch of bis hand who operates unseen, has paralyzed the power of continuous thought, or produced a dejection that unfits the soul even for the society of those we love.
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" But I beg to thank you for all your letters, which I value highly, and I thank you particularly for this last, and its- enclosure, which I have transmitted to the Editor of the C. 0. I rejoice to observe the progress of your institution, and I trust you will have numbers trained there for your crown of joy and rejoicing. Miss H. More has just lost her only remaining sister, being the fourth taken from her in the course of the last five or six years. She now stands alone at the age of 75 or 76, the only survivor of her family, possessing indeed, in this state of desolation, the regard and admiration of the world, but yet deprived of that which she prized highly, and which was one of her chief earthly solaces, the sweetness of domestic affection. Mrs. Macaulay and my eldest daughter, are about to visit Barley Wood with the intention of spending a month or two there, in the hope of supplying, by their affectionate assi- duities, the void which her sister's death has caused, and of improving their own hearts by converse with this extraordinary woman, standing, as she does, on the verge of the eternity she has so long contemplated, and looking forward to an early departure to that Savior, whom she has so long and so faithfully served. You, probably, have seen her last work, published about two months ago. It leaves no marks of mental decay. I passed a few days with her in the month of July. We talked of you and }-our interesting pupil, and your no less interesting sermons, of which she is a warm admirer.
" I remain, my dear sir, yours very truly,
"ZACHARY MACAULAY."
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 97
Mr. Gallaudet to Dr. Chalmers.
" New York, Sept. 20th, 1820.
"My Dear Sir, — Your very valuable present of your volume of sermons, with the accompanying letter, has been received, for which I sincerely thank you. If I am not mistaken, I sent you a few months ago, a small packet of pamphlets ; I hope you have received them.
"Your late writings, some of which I have had the pleasure of seeing, while the outlines of others I have gathered from the notices taken of them in reviews and other periodical publications — indirectly inform me of the continuance of your life and usefulness. May all your labors be crowned with the most signal bless- ing from the great Head of the Church !
" My employment of teaching the deaf and dumb, has unfolded to my view, perhaps a too sanguine one, a new mode of gaining access to the minds of such heathen nations as have no written or printed language. I have been trying to digest my thoughts into a regu- lar essay on the subject, which, should it appear before the public in any form, I shall take the liberty of trans- mitting to you.
11 My speculations have grown out of a few very sing- ular facts, which were providentially presented to my notice. We have in Connecticut a school for the educa- tion of heathen youth. I visited it two years ago. I gathered round me one evening, a dozen of th, 3 pupils, among whom were individuals of three different tribes of our American Indians; some Owhyeans, and Otaheitans, and one Malay. I talked to them by mere signs. I was understood on all common subjects. I even suc- ceeded in making them comprehend some questions
98 LIFE AND LABORS OF
winch I proposed to them about a future state, and their souls and the Supreme Being. I ascertained the correct meaning of many of the words of the Owyhean language, by signs merely. Not long after, one of their number, Thomas Hoopoo, who has since gone to the Sandwich Islands as a missionary, visited our asy- lum. He conversed with our pupils by signs, a full hour, and was well understood. Now if the Christian missionary, who goes to a people, who have only an oral language, of which he is quite ignorant, were acquainted with the language of signs and gestures, he would, in my apprehension, have a medium of inter- course with them, almost at once, on all common topics, which would soon grow into a more distinct and copi- ous language, and thus lay the foundation for the speedy and correct acquisition of the language of the country. For the moment that two minds have one medium of intercourse with each other, no matter what that medium be, it may be the language of signs as well as any other language, they can, by substitution, or what we generally term translation, employ a cor- responding medium, composed of a quite different language.
" Besides, a purely oral language, can only be learned by a stranger, who goes among those who speak it, by noticing the successive objects, actions, emotions, opera- tions of the mind and heart; occasions and circum- stances to which, singly or collectively, the words of the language are applied. All such notice must be made by the eye. Now the same objects, actions, &c, can be faithfully depicted by the pantomimic repre- sentation of them by signs and gestures addressed to the eye, and with some peculiar advantages; for they
HEV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 99
can be depicted at any time, whereas a great delay must often take place for their recurrence in actual life; they can be depicted with all possible varieties of com- bination, whereas you have no control over the order in which they shall occur in real life ; they can be de- picted so as to separate from them all that is vague or irrelevant, whereas in real life, a great many adventi- tious circumstances are of necessity blended with those which form the precise assemblage to which a particu- lar word or phrase is applied, and it is some time before the observer can fasten upon the circumstances which are denoted by the word or phrase and those which are merely accidental appendages. I hope my subject will not suffer in your judgment, from the present hasty and loose manner in which I have given you a few thoughts upon it ; I hope to do it more justice in the future. I send you our last report. I shall be ex- tremely glad to have even a few lines from you, when your leisure will permit.
" Yours, in Christian affection,
" T. H. GALLAUDET. " Rev. Thos. Chalmers, D. D."
\
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CHAPTER IV.
While Mr. Gallaudet was pursuing his inquiries and studies abroad, the friends of the object at home were preparing the way for its successful prosecution on his return. In May, 1816, they procured an act of incorporation from the Legislature of Connecticut, by the name of " The Connecticut Asylum for the Education of Deaf and Dumb Persons," but it could not be opened at once. It required a number of months to interest the public mind in regard to the practicability of the new undertaking, and in collecting funds for the immediate wants of the establishment. This agency devolved chiefly upon Mr. Grallaudet, and he visited some of our large cities with very encour- aging success. No other person, it is believed, could have inspired so much confidence just then, when it was essential to a favorable commencement of the benevolent enterprise. The Asylum was opened on the 20th of April, 1817, by Mr. Gallaudet, with the following introductory
DISCOURSE.
"Just two years have elapsed, since the first steps were taken toward the establishment, in this city, of an Asylum for the instruction of the deaf and dumb. Those who then embarked in this enterprise, felt it to
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and
BBV. THOS. IT. GALLAUDET. 101
be their duty to commend its future prospects to the protection of that Arm, which moves so easily the complicated springs of human action, and wields, with unerring wisdom, the vast machinery of providence. Their united supplications ascended from the lips of one, whose venerable presence has so often filled this sacred desk, and whose spirit perhaps now witnesses the fulfillment, in some good degree, of his wishes, and the answer of heaven to his requests. His * voice no more guides our devotions, nor animates us in the path of duty ! But his memory is cherished in our hearts, and, on occasions like the present, while we mourn his absence and feel his loss, let it be a source of grateful consolation to us, that the undertaking, of which this evening is the anniversary, began under the hopeful influence of his prayers. It has met, indeed, with difficulties, and still labors under embarrassments, which are incident to almost all the untried efforts of benevolence. Yet, in its gradual progress, it has been encouraged by the smiles of a kind Providence, and is at length enabled to commence its practical operation.
"At such a season, the directors of its concerns have thought, that a remembrance of past favors, and a conviction of future dependence on God, rendered it proper again to unite in solemn acts of religious worship. These acts they have made thus public, from a grateful sense of the general interest that has been expressed toward the Asylum, and it is at their re- quest that the speaker rises to address this respectable assembly.
* Rev. Nathan Strong, D. D., in whose church this sermon was delivered.
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11 He enters upon the duty which has thus devolved upon him, not reluctantly, yet with diffidence and solicitude, principally fearing that the cause of the deaf and dumb may suffer, and yet hoping that God, in whose hands the feeblest instruments are strong, will deign to make our meditations not only produc- tive of benefit to the unfortunate objects of our pity, but of eternal good to our own souls. And, my friends, how soon would the apologies of the speaker, and the implored candor of his hearers, pass into for- getful ness, could we feel that we are in the presence of Almighty God, and that the awful destinies of our immortal existence are connected with the events of this passing hour ! May the Spirit of Grace impress these truths upon our hearts, while we take, as the guide of our thoughts, that portion of scripture which is contained in the 35th chapter of Isaiah, and the 5th and 6th verses.
" l Then the eyes of the blind shall he opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing ; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
" These words depict a part of the visions of futurity which gladdened the e}^e of Isaiah, and which irradiate his writings with so cheering a luster, that he has been called ' the evangelical prophet.' His predictions are assuming, in our day, some of their most glorious forms of fulfillment. For, although they had a more direct reference to the time of our Savior, by whose miraculous energy the ears of the deaf were opened, and the tongue of the dumb loosened, yet, without
REV. TIIOS. H. GALLAUDET. 103
doubt, as might be proved from the general scope and tenor of the prophetic writings, they equally allude to the universal diffusion of the Gospel in these latter ages of the church, and to its happy influence upon the hearts of all mankind. The same Savior, who went about doing good, is also the Lord of this lower creation. He once performed the acts of his kindness by the mere word of his power ; he now is mindful of the necessitous, and makes provision for them, through the medium of his providential dispensations. It should be matter, therefore, of encouragement to us, that the establishment, which is now ready to receive within its walls the sons and daughters of misfortune, however humble may be its sphere of exertion, is not overlooked in the economy of the Eedeemer's king- dom ; that its probable influence is even shadowed forth in the sayings of prophecy ; and that it forms one link in that golden chain of universal good-will, which will eventually embrace and bind together the whole family of man. Let it awaken our gratitude to think, that our feeble efforts are not disregarded by the great Head of the Church, and that we are per- mitted thus to cast our mite into his treasury.
"In the chapter from which the words of my text are taken, the prophet has described the blessings of the Redeemer's kingdom in the richest colors of oriental imagery. He portrays, by the strongest and boldest figures, the joy that will be diffused throughout the earth when the Gospel of Jesus Christ shall have been proclaimed to all people, and its principles made the universal rule of thought and conduct. He would thus teach us the intimate connection, even in this world, between holiness and haDoiness, and excite our
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efforts toward hastening on the latter day glory of the church, by placing before us the advantages that will result from it. Every exertion, then, of Christian benevolence, which forms a part of the great system of doing good, is entitled, so to speak, to the encour- agements which the prophet holds forth. I shall not, therefore, depart from the spirit of the text if, on the present occasion, I attempt to describe some of the benefits which will result from the exertions which are making for the improvement of the deaf and dumb, and thus show how it will happen, that in this department of Christian benevolence, 'in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.'
" The whole plan of my discourse, then, will be to state several advantages which will arise from the establishment of this Asylum, and to propose several motives which should inspire those who are interested in its welfare, with renewed zeal, and the hopes of ultimate success.
" The instruction of the deaf and dumb, if properly conducted, has a tendency to give important aid to many researches of the philanthropist, the philosopher, and the divine. The philanthropist and the philoso- pher are deeply interested in the business of education. The cultivation of the human mind is paramount to all other pursuits; inasmuch as spirit is superior to matter, and eternity to time. Youth is the season in which the powers of the mind begin to develop them- selves, and language, the grand instrument by which this development is to take place. Now it is beyond all doubt, that great improvement has been made in the mode of instructing children in the use and power
REV. TIIOS. IT. GALLAUDET. 105
of language. To what extent these improvements may yet be carried, time alone can determine. The very singular condition in which the minds of the deaf and dumb are placed, and the peculiar means which are necessarily employed in their instruction, may furnish opportunities for observation and experi- ment, and the establishment of principles with regard to the education of youth, which will not be without essential service in 'their general application. How much light, also, may in this way be thrown upon what are supposed to be the original truths, felt and recognized to be such by the mind, without any reason- ing process. Many speculations, too, which now are obscure and unsettled, respecting the faculties of the human mind, may be rendered more clear and satis- factory. How many questions, also, may be solved, concerning the capability of man to originate of him- self the notion of a God and of a future state, or, ad- mitting his capacity to do this, whether, as a matter of fact, he ever would do it. What discoveries may be made respecting the original notions of right and wrong, the obligations of conscience, and, indeed, most of the similar topics connected with the moral sense. These hints are sufficient to show that, aside from the leading and more important uses of giving instruction to the deaf and dumb, their education might be made to subserve the general cause of humanity, and of correct philosophy and theology.
" But I pass to considerations of more immediate advantage ; and one is, that of affording consolation to the relatives and friends of these unfortunates. Parents ! make the case your own. Fathers and mothers! think what would be your feelings, were the son of your ex- 5*
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pcctations, or the daughter of your hopes, to be found in this unhappy condition. The lamp of reason already lights its infant eye; the smile of intelligence plays upon its countenance ; its little hand is stretched forth in significant expression of its wants ; the delightful season of prattling converse has arrived : but its art- less lispings are in vain anticipated with paternal ardor; the voice of maternal affection falls unheard on its ear ; its silence begins to betray its misfortune, and its look and gesture soon prove that it must be for ever cut off from colloquial intercourse with man, and that parental love must labor under unexpected difficulties, in preparing it for its journey through the thorny world upon which it has entered. How many experiments must be made before its novel language can be understood ! How often must its instruction be attempted before the least improvement can take place ! How imperfect, after every effort, must this improvement be ! Who shall shape its future course through life? who shall provide it with sources of intellectual comfort? who shall explain to it the in- visible realities of a future world ? All ! my hearers, I could spread before you scenes of a mother's anguish, I ,could read to you letters of a father's anxiety, which would not fail to move your hearts to pity, and your eyes to tears, and to satisfy you that the prospect, which the instruction of their deaf and dumb children opens to parents, is a balm for one of the keenest of sorrows, inasmuch as it is a relief for what has been hitherto considered an irremediable misfortune.
" The most important advantages, however, in the education of the deaf and dumb, accrue to those who are the subjects of it; and these are advantages which
REV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 107
it is extremely difficult for those of us, who are in possession of all our faculties, duly to appreciate. He whose pulse has always beat high with health, little understands the rapture of recovery from sickness. He who has always trod the soil and breathed the air of freedom, cannot sj^mpathize with the feelings of ecstacy which glo~w in the breast of him who, having long been the tenant of some dreary dungeon, is brought forth to the cheering influence of light and liberty.
" But there is a sickness more dreadful than that of the body ; there are chains more galling than those of the dungeon— the immortal mind preying upon itself, and so imprisoned as not to be able to unfold its intel- lectual and moral powers, and to attain to the com- prehension and enjoyment of those objects, which the Creator has designed as the sources of its highest ex- pectations and hopes. Such must often be the con- dition of the uninstructed deaf and dumb. What mysterious darkness must sadden their souls ! How imperfectly can they account for the wonders that surround them ! Must not each one of them, in the language of thought, sometimes say, ' What is it that makes me differ from my fellow-men ? Why are they so much my superiors ? What is that strange mode of communicating, by which they understand each other with the rapidity of lightning, and which en- livens their faces with the brightest expressions of joy ? Why do I not possess it, or why can it not be commu- nicated to me ? What are those mysterious characters, over which they pore with such incessant delight, and which seem to gladden the hours that pass by me so sad and cheerless ? What mean the ten thousan4
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customs, which I witness in the private circles and the public assemblies, and which possess such mighty in- fluence over the conduct and feelings of those around me? And that termination of life — that placing in the cold bosom of the earth those whom I have loved so long and so tenderly ; how it makes me shudder ! What is death ? Why are my friends thus laid by and forgotten? Will they never revive from this strange slumber? Shall the grass always grow over them ? Shall I see their faces no more for ever ? And must I also thus cease to move and fall into an eternal sleep ? '
" And these are the meditations of an immortal mind^ looking through the gates of its prison-house upon objects on which the rays of revelation shed no light, but all of which are obscured by the shadows of doubt, or shrouded in the darkest gloom of ignorance. And this mind may be set free, may be enabled to expatiate through the boundless fields of intellectual and moral research — may have the cheering doctrines of life and immortality, through Jesus Christ, unfolded to its view ; may be led to understand who is the Author of its be- ing ; what are its duties to him ; how its offences may be pardoned through the blood of the Savior ; how its affections may be purified through the influences of the Spirit ; how it may at last gain the victory over death, and triumph over the horrors of the grave. In- stead of having the scope of its vision terminated by the narrow horizon of human life, it stretches into the endless expanse of eternity ; instead of looking, with contracted gaze, at the little circle of visible objects, with which it is surrounded, it rises to the majestic contemplation of its own immortal existence, to the
REV. TIIOS. H. GALLAUDET. 100
sublime conception of an infinite and supreme intelli- gence, and to the ineffable displays of bis goodness in the wonders of redeeming love.
Behold these immortal minds ! Some of them are before yon ; the pledges, we trust, of multitudes who will be rescued from the thraldom of ignorance : pur- sue, in imagination, their future progress in time and in eternity, and say, my hearers, whether I appreciate too highly the blessings which we wish to be made the in- struments of conferring upon the deaf and dumb ?
For the means of anticipating these blessings, the deaf and dumb owe much to the liberality of generous individuals in our sister states ; whose benevolence is only equaled by the expanded view which they take of the importance of concentrating, at present, the re- sources of the country in one establishment, that, by the extent of its means, the number of its pupils, and the qualifications of its instructors, it may enjoy the oppor- tunity of maturing a uniform system of education for the deaf and dumb, and of training up teachers for such remoter places as may need similar establishments.
This state, too, has, we trust, given a pledge that it will not abandon an Asylum, which its own citizens have had the honor of founding ; and which claims a connection (a humble one indeed,) with its other humane and literary institutions.
In this city, however, have the principal efforts been made in favor of this undertaking. Here, in the wise dispensations of his providence, Grod saw fit to afflict an interesting child with this affecting calamity, that her misfortune might move the feelings, and rouse the efforts, of her parents and friends in behalf of her fellow-sufferers. Here was excited, in consequence,
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that spirit of research, which led to the melancholy discovery that our own small state probably contains one hundred of these unfortunates. Here were raised up the original benefactors of the deaf and dumb; whose benevolence has enabled the Asylum to open its doors for the reception of pupils much sooner than was at first contemplated. Here the hearts of many have been moved to offices of kindness and labors of love, which the objects of their regard will have reason ever to remember with affectionate gratitude ; and here is witnessed, for the first time in this western world, the affecting sight of a little group of fellow-sufferers assembling for instruction, whom neither sex, nor age, nor distance, could prevent from hastening to embrace the first opportunity of aspiring to the privileges that we enjoy as rational, social, and immortal beings. They know the value of the gift that is offered them, and are not reluctant to quit the delights of their native home, (delights doubly dear to those whose circle of enjoy- ment is so contracted,) not to forsake the endearments of the parental roof, that they may find, in a land of strangers, and through toils of indefatigable persever- ance, the treasures of wisdom and knowledge ! How can the importunity of such suppliants be rejected ! Hard is that heart which can resist such claims upon its kindness.
Nor, we trust, will motives be found wanting for future exertions in behalf of these children of misfor- tune. It is always more blessed to give than to receive. Efforts of charity, prudently and usefully directed, never fail abundantly to repay those by whom they are made. This is true, not only with regard to indi- viduals, but also public bodies of men. That town,
KEY. TIIOS. II. GALLAUDET. Ill
whose character is one of benevolence and good- will toward the unhappy, enjoys, in the opinion of all the wise and good, a reputation more exalted, more valu- able, more noble, than it can possibly gain by the most extensive pursuits of commerce and the arts ; by the most elaborate improvements in trade or manufactures ; by the richest displays of its wealth, or the splendor of its edifices; by the proudest monuments of its taste or genius. It gains, too, the smiles of heaven, whose blessings descend upon it in various forms of divine munificence. While the hearts of its inhabitants ex- pand in charity toward others, and the labors of their hands are united in one common object, they learn together the pleasure of doing good — they find, at least, one green spot of repose in the desert of life, where they may cull some fruits of paradise, and draw refreshment from streams that flow from the river of Grocl. They feel that they are fellow- pilgrims in the same wilderness of cares and sorrows, and while they look to that country to which we are all hastening, while they tread in the footsteps of Him who ivent about doing good, how quickly do their differences of opinion soften ; the lines of sec- tarian division melt away ; and even political jealousies and animosities retire into the shades of forgetfulness.
Yes, my hearers, godliness hath the promise of this life, as well as of that which is to come. The spirit of Christian benevolence is the only one which will change completely the aspect of human affairs. It has already begun to knit together the affections, not only of towns and villages, but of numerous sects throughout the world, and seems to be preparing to embrace within its influence even states and kingdoms. On its hallowed ground a respite is given to political and religious war-
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fare ; men lay down the weapons of contention, and cherish, for a season at least, the divine temper of peace on earth, and good- will toward men.
Every charitable effort, conducted upon Christian principles, and with a dependence on the supreme Head of the Church, forms a part of the great system of do- ing good, and looks forward to that delightful day, when the earth shall be filled with righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
While, therefore, my hearers, I would endeavor to excite an interest in your hearts in behalf of our infant establishment, by portraying its advantages, and ad- dressing to you motives of encouragement with regard to its future progress, drawn from topics of a more per- sonal and local kind, permit me to place before you the purest and noblest motive of all, in this and in every charitable exertion — the tendency it will have to promote the welfare of the Redeemer'1 s lemgdom.
It was the future advent of this kingdom which filled the heart of the prophet with rapture, when he wrote the chapter which as been read in our hearing. Do we participate, in any degree, of his spirit ? Do our efforts for doing good, however humble may be their sphere of influence, proceed from a wish that thus we may be made the instruments of advancing that happy period, when the heathen shall he given to Christ for his inherit- ance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his posses- sio?i ; when, through the influence of his Gospel, and the efficacy of his grace, ' the wilderness and the soli- tary place shall be glad, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose ;' when ' the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion, with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads ;' when ( they shall
I
RET. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 113
obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.'
It is Jesus Christ whom we are thus bound to love, to imitate and to obey. We are stewards, but of his bounty : we are laborers in his vineyard. Whatsoever we do, should be done in his name. For it is by this test that all our efforts to do good will be tried at the great day of his dread and awful retribution. Let us not fail, then, to make a suitable improvement of this occasion, by inquiring, whether our benevolence toward men, springs from love toward the Savior of our souls ; whether our humanity is something more than the off- spring of mere sympathetic tenderness ; for it is a truth wmich rests on the authority of our final Judge, that without the principle of divine love within our breasts, we may bestow all our goods to feed the poor, we may give our very bodies to be burned, and yet by all this be profited nothing.
AVhile we seek, therefore, to soothe the distresses and dispel the ignorance of the unfortunate objects of our regard ; while we would unfold to them the won- ders of that religion in which we profess to believe, and set before them the love of that Savior on whom all our hopes rest ; let us be grateful to God for the very superior advantages which we enjoy; consider how imperfectly we improve them ; be mindful that after all we do, we are but unprofitable servants ; and thus, feeling the necessity of our continual reliance upon Jesus Christ, trust alone to his righteousness for acceptance with God. That this may be the sure foundation to each one of us, of peace in this world, and of happiness in the next, may God of his mercy grant. Amen."
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At first only seven pupils entered the institution, but before the end of the year the number had in- creased to thirty - three ; and so successful was the experiment, that it brought applications for admis- sion from all quarters, insomuch, that, notwithstanding the generous grant from the legislature of five thous- and dollars, the directors had not the funds to aid those unfortunate applicants, whose friends were un- able to meet the expense of supporting them. This sum of five thousand dollars was afterwards expended by the Asylum in educating indigent pupils of the State. The next event of special interest in the his- tory of the Asylum was the completion, occupation, and dedication of the principal building. The services of dedication took place on the 22d of May, 1821, and was in accordance with that spirit of dependence on God, which led the projectors of the institution unitedly to seek his blessing in their earliest meetings, and which had afterwards, in one or more seasons of difficulty, induced them to appoint a special meeting for this object, at which clergymen of that city were invited to conduct the exercises. The directors had ever regarded their enterprise as one of piety and Christian charity. They were acting for the benefit of persons whose condition of intellectual and moral darknesss excluded them, like the heathen, from the hopes, the consolations, the knowledge even of Christianity, and seeing the benign influence which religious truth had already exerted upon their pupils, they gratefully dedi- cated the institution to Almighty God.
It was on that occasion that Mr. Gallaudet delivered the following appropriate and exceedingly impressive discourse :
REV. TH03. II. GALLAUDET. 115
DISCOURSE.
" For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." — 2 Cor. v, 1.
"The faith of Paul in the promises of God was an anchor to his soul, both sure and steadfast, amid all the sorrows and troubles of life. Experience had taught him not to look to human aid for support, nor to seek repose in earthly comforts ; for both, he well knew, like the temporary shelter of a house, might fall beneath the arm of violence, or crumble into ruin from the natural progress of decay. He felt himself a stranger and a pilgrim on the earth ; his home was in heaven, rendered sure to him by the declaration of his divine Master, ' In my Father's house are many man- sions, if it were not so, I would have told you : I go to prepare a place for you.' To this final rest from all suffering and sin, Paul looked forward with such de- lightful anticipation, that even his affliction appeared but light and momentary, and he considered it as work- ing out for him a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. The faith which enabled him to do this, he thus describes, ' While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen : for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.'
By the expression, l earthly house of this taberna- cle,' I apprehend the apostle intended something more than the mere human body, and referred rather to our
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residence in this world, which, from its transitoriness and uncertainty, might well be compared to a taberna- cle or tent, and thus be fitly contrasted with the per- manency and stability of the heavenly state. Thus you see what was the true source of the apostle's con- solation under affliction, and of the zeal and hope which animated him in the midst of his trials ; he re- garded things temporal as he would the accommoda- tions of a house, which, with all its inconveniences and comforts, is nevertheless destined to inevitable dis- solution ; he fixed his affections on things eternal, on his home in the heavens, on that building of God, whose foundation is sure, whose walls are imperisha- ble, and the beauty, order, and magnificence of which infinitely surpass all our conceptions. These senti- ments of the apostle, and the spirit which dictated them, seem to me, my brethren, peculiarly suitable for us to imbibe on the present occasion. We see before us a little group of our fellow-beings, who are called in the mysterious providence of God to endure affliction. This affliction may become comparatively light to them, and, as it were, enduring but a moment, could it be made instrumental of working out for them a far more ex- ceeding and eternal weight of glory. They are just introduced into an earthly house well calculated for their accommodation ; but it becomes both them and all of us, who feel interested in their welfare, to keep constantly in mind, that this goodly edifice, with its various sources of instruction and improvement, is one of the things which, though seen perhaps with grateful satisfaction, is still temporal, the worldly advantages of which may prove uncertain and must be transitory, and at which, therefore, we ought not to look with any
KEV. THOS. n. GALLAUDET. 117
sense of a strong and undue attachment, but rather, raise the eye of our faith, and persuade these sufferers to do so likewise, to a better home, to that building of God, the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. When I say that the worldly advantages of this Asylum may prove uncertain, do not understand me as wishing to disparage their true importance and value. To do this would be alike unwise and ungrate- ful. It would be unwise; for godliness hath the promise of this life as well as of that which is to come, and it is only a misguided enthusiasm which can aim to prepare youth for a better world, without, at the same time, training them up to a faithful discharge of all their duties in this. It would be ungrateful ; for every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused if it be received with thanksgiving ; and we might as well close our eyes upon the budding beauties of the season, which the kind Author of Nature is now unfolding to our view, as to shut our hearts against that general aspect of convenience, and that propect of future com- fort to the deaf and dumb, which the same Giver of every good and perfect gift, deigns to shed over the establishment which we wish this day to dedicate to Him who has thus far fostered and protected it. But the brightest hopes of spring sometimes fall before an untimely frost, and human establishments of the fairest promise have often been so perverted from their original design as to become the nurseries of error, or so con- ducted in their progress as to promote the views of personal interest, or so decked out with the pomp and circumstance of greatness, as to serve rather for the or- naments with which ambition would love to decorate itself, than as the plain and useful instruments which the
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hand of unostentatious charity would employ to dispense her simple and substantial benefits to the suffering ob- jects of her care. Believe me, these are the rocks on which this institution may be shipwrecked. Its very prosperity should serve as the beacon of its danger.
Many of you, my brethren, recollect when your interest for the deaf and dumb was first excited by a single individual of their number,* thus afflicted, as it were, by Providence, for the very purpose of turning her calamity into the source of blessings upon her fel- low-sufferers; and now, when about six years only have elapsed since she was regarded as almost a soli- tary instance of this calamity among us, I see her in the midst of a considerable circle of those whom she was destined to relieve, many of whom, with herself, have already completed the fourth year of their educa- tion, while they this day are assembled in their own house, reared by the charities of individuals, and the munificence of both, state and national bounty, with means of comfort and instruction far surpassing the most sanguine hopes that were indulged by the friends of the Asylum at its commencement. My brethren, such unexampled prosperity is dangerous, and those to whom the guardianship of this institution is entrusted, will do well to watch against its insinuating effects.
Man, whether in his collective or individual capac- ity, is a fallen and degenerate being. He is always prone to look at the things which are seen and are tem- poral, and to neglect those which are not seen and are eternal. And this explains a most singular problem of human nature. You will find individuals whose hearts overflow with all the charities of life — kind, gen-
* Alice Cogswell.
KEY. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 119
tie, amiable, honorable — willing to practice almost any self-denial and to expend almost any bounty, in the fur- thering of plans for the relief of the temporal distress of their fellow-men. And they will erect the most princely establishments to furnish the sickness of pov- erty with a couch of ease, and to afford the wandering stranger a home, and to soothe the sorrows of the widow and supply the wants of the fatherless, and to control or mitigate the worst of all human evils, the maddening diseases of the mind ; and yet they can do all this and think nothing of the souls of these suffer- ers, make little or no provision for their spiritual neces- sities; and while everything is done to render the earthly house of their tabernacle convenient and com- fortable, they are not warned that they must soon leave it ; they are not urged to secure a residence in a better home, in the ' building of God, the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.' In saying this, far be it from me to decry the offices of humanity ; but why not blend these offices with the nobler charity which the Gospel inspires ? While men will lavish all the skill and experience that their bounty can procure to heal the diseases of the body, why perform only half the cure ? why leave the patient to languish under a more dreadful malady, the corruption of a depraved heart? why not take advantage of the composure and self-reflection, which his very hour of bodily suffering brings with it, to soothe the pangs of his conscience, to allay the torments of remorse, to ease him from the burden of sin, to refresh his parched soul with the well- spring of eternal life, to point him to that Physician in whose gift is immortal health and vigor? My brethren, look at this fact ; it is to be found on the pages of all
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the histories of mere philanthropy, and shows the danger to which all establishments of benevolence are exposed. Forgive me, then, for dwelling on this perhaps unwel- come topic. But I do feel that the solemnities of this day, if they have any meaning, call upon all who are interested in the welfare of the establishment, to keep steadily in view its simple, original design, that of making it the gate to heaven, for these poor lambs of the flock ; for, without such means of instruction, they must continue to sit in darkness, and in the region of the shadow of death, ignorant of the immortality of their souls, of their accountability to God, of their future state of being, of the destinies which await them, of the corruption of their own hearts, of the necessity of repentance toward God, and of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and of the influence of that Holy Comforter, which can alone renew them in the temper of their minds, and prepare them for the inheritance which is incorruptible, undetlled, and that fadeth not away.
Besides, by thus making the spiritual benefits of the institution paramount to all others, its temporal advantages will be best secured. For the former afford the surest foundation of the latter. If it is thus devoted to the cause of Christ and to the build- ing up of his kingdom among the deaf and dumb, such a feeling of dependence on God, of accountability to him, and of reliance on his providential support, will be produced among those who manage its conceras, as to give the most consistency, energy and success to all their measures and operations for its welfare. It will then be placed, if I may so speak, under the more immediate protection of the Savior, it becomes entitled to his covenant promises, it forms a depart-
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 121
ment of his vast and increasing empire in this lower world, and he stands pledged to overshadow it with the arm of his mighty and irresistible protection.
Again, by devoting this institution to the cause of Christ, the moral influence of the truths of the Gospel will have an important and salutary effect even upon its purely intellectual and temporal de- partments, and the government of the pupils. Truth is often said to be omnipotent. It is the instrument which the Father of spirits employs to enlighten the minds and purify the hearts of his intelligent creatures. But truth is one, and there is probably a real con- nection between all kinds of truth, both human and divine ; for the Author of those operations of nature which furnish the data from which physical truths are derived, and of those dispensations of providence and grace from which moral and religious truths are derived, is one and the same Almighty Being, direct- ing and controlling the vast movements of his power and the mysterious processes of his wisdom, and the inflexible dispensations of his justice, and the en- gaging displays of his goodness, upon one harmonious plan, all tending to one result, the brightest illustra- tion of his glory, and the best good of all who love and serve him. Now in this plan, moral truth holds a higher rank than intellectual, and has a nobler influence on the mind ; and I apprehend that the youth whose understanding is early opened to the reception and influence of the truths of the Gospel in all their beauty and simplicity, will make the fairest and most rapid progress, even in his attainment of merely human knowledge. Sin darkens the un- derstanding as well as debases the heart. Had man 6
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remained in his primeval state of innocence, probably much of that very obscurity which attends the re- searches that philosophy has been attempting to make, for ages, in the discovery of physical truth, and which has been attributed simply to the limited powers of the human faculties, in this imperfect state of being, would never have existed, and much that now appears mysterious, would then have been clear. But there is a view of this subject somewhat more practical, which gives it, if not a more elevated, at least, a more heart-felt interest, flow much of the successful education of youth in any department of knowledge depends upon the docility of the pupil, and on the influence which the instructor has over him ! How is this docility best to be cultivated ? How is this influence to be maintained, so as to com- bine respect with love? No precepts like those of the Gospel diffuse over the opening character that tender ingenuousness of feeling which is so lovely in y outh : it is like the dew of heaven, whose mild luster sheds a fresher charm over the budding flower, refreshes its infancy, and nurtures its growth into all the fullness of its maturer beauties. The faculties of the child expand in their most desirable form^ nay, its very acquisitions of knowledge are most rapid, when the affections of its heart are properly cultivated, and they cannot be so without making- use of the doctrines, and precepts, and example of that Savior, who was the friend of the young and helpless. Education, could it be conducted upon strictly Gospel principles, would soon prove by actual ex- periment, that the influence, of the religion of Jesus Christ, in fact, elevates and ennobles all the powers
REV. Til OS. H. GALLAUDET. 123
of the understanding, while it purifies and hallows all the affections of the heart. And, in the same way- it would not be difficult to show, that if it is to be one of the leading objects of this institution to form its pupils to those habits of useful employment, which will qualify them to contribute to their own future support, and to prepare them to sustain the various relations, and discharge the various duties of life with credit to themselves and comfort to their friends, that this is best to be accomplished, by leading them to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and then all these things shall be added unto them. I have been led to these reflections, my brethren, from considering what appeared to me to be the real nature of the occasion Avhich has brought us together. It is to dedicate this Asylum to Almighty God. It is not merely to consecrate the building, or any particular part of it, to the services and ceremonies of religious worship, although we indulge the hope that this will form an important feature of the establishment, and give the pupils the opportunity of enjoying this privi- lege in a manner adapted to their peculiar situation. But we rather assemble here to dedicate the whole institution, in all its departments and with all its benefits, to the service and honor of Him who has so kindly reared and cherished it, and to invoke his blessing and protection upon it.
On such an occasion, so solemn and so interesting, it is becoming, it is safe, nay, we are under the strongest obligations, to render this whole institution into the hands of Him, who retains a property in every gift which he bestows upon us, and under whose direction, and by the guidance of whose precepts, we can best
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secure and enjoy all our blessings. Hence I have en- deavored in this discourse to show, that it is both the duty and interest of those to whom the guardianship of this Asylum is entrusted, to keep its original and leading design steadily in view, to make the religious welfare of the pupils its great object, arid to conduct all its other departments, not upon worldly or merely humane principles, but under the wholesome laws and maxims of the Gospel of our Savior. Let us, then, my brethren, all of us who expect to be engaged in its affairs; or who are interested in its prosperity, now, in the presence of Almighty God, and with a humble reliance on his aid, proceed to dedicate this Asylum, in all its departments, and with all its interests and concerns, to the service of the Father of Mercies, to the honor of the Redeemer's name, the grace of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter ; invoking the continuance of the Divine blessing upon it, that it may prove a rich, a lasting, an eternal benefit to the suffering objects of its care.
Thus built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone, it will be established on the Rock of Ages ; and when these walls which the hands of man have erected, shall have mouldered into ruin ; when nothing but the winds of heaven shall sigh in melancholy murmur through the desolation of these goodly scenes which surround and embellish it ; when the last memorials of its founders and patrons and friends, the lonely tomb- stones of their grass-grown graves, shall have crumbled into dust and ceased to preserve even their very names from oblivion; when its present and future inhabi- tants, the cherished objects of its care, shall have left, one
REV. TIIOS. II. GALLAUDET. 125
after another, this earthly house of their tabernacle ; we will indulge the delightful hope, that it will have proved to each of them, the preparatory entrance, the outer court, of the building of God, the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. And that this may prove the happy lot both of them, and of all who now surround them and show this interest in their welfare, may God of his infinite mercy grant. Amen."
DEDICATORY PRAYER.
" Father of mercies and God of all grace and consolation, enable us, at this time, to raise unto thee the united desires of our hearts, in behalf of those whose necessities thou hast not forgotten, and whom thou hast visited, in their calamity, with the kindest tokens of thy regard. We would reverently admire the overflowing abundance of thy bounty, and the countless ways in which thou dispensest thy gifts to the sinful and suffering children of men. We thank thee, for all that thou hast done, both in this and other parts of the world, to succor those who are deaf and dumb, and we do beseech thee to bless them, and the institutions which cherish them, with the kindness of thy paternal care, with the light of thy Gospel, and Avith the dew of thy grace. Especially would we acknowledge, with humble and devout gratitude, all the manifestations of thy goodness toward the Asylum established in this place. By the wonderful workings of thy providence, thou didst direct the attention of the benevolent to these children of suffering ; thou didst prepare and open the way for their relief; thou didst move the hand of charity to supply their wants ;
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thou didst provide the means of their instruction ; thou didst touch the hearts of the wise and honorable, and the rulers of the land, with compassion toward them; and now, to crown all thy other gifts, thou hast gathered them, as it were, beneath the shadow of thy wings, into this their own dwelling, in which we humbly hope, both they and many of their fellow- sufferers will be made partakers of still greater and richer blessings. In all these things, we desire, O God, to see, to acknowledge, and to adore the hand of thy power, and the riches of thy bounty. ' Not unto us, O Lord ! not unto us, but unto thy name, be all the praise and all the glory.' And now, 0 Lord ! what shall we render unto thee for all these thy benefits? We can only give back to thee what thou hast already given. Wilt thou, then, enable us, by the aid of thy Holy Spirit, through the intercession of thy Son, and with faith in him, at this time, most solemnly to dedicate this Asylum to th}rself.
Almighty and most merciful God, in behalf of those whom thou hast called, in thy providence, to direct and govern the concerns of this Asylum, we do now dedicate the whole institution to thee ; to thee, in all its departments of intellectual, moral, and religious instruction ; to thee, in all its privileges of worship, prayer, and praise ; to thee, in all its domestic regulations, and various means of comfort and useful- ness ; to thee, with all its benefits both spiritual and temporal : beseeching thee to accept the offering, and to make it subservient to the promotion of thy glory, to the honor of thy son Jesus Christ, and to the build- ing up of his kingdom in the hearts of all who have been, who now are, or who may be, the objects of
REV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 127
its care. 0, thou Father of Mercies, take now, we beseech thee, this Asylum, with all its interests, under thy future protection. Defend it from every danger by thy Almighty arm. Give it all salutary favor in the sight of our fellow-men. Excite the prayers of thy own children in its behalf. Shed down upon all who are intrusted with the direction and management of its concerns, in their several stations, and in the discharge of their respective duties, a spirit of wisdom and prudence, of patience and kindness, of fidelity and industry; so that all things being conducted in thy fear, may meet with thy blessing, and result both in the temporal and spiritual good of those who resort hither for instruction. May the pupils ever be taught the truths of thy Gospel, in all their affecting simplicity and force. May the friend of the wretched, the Savior of sinners, the Son of thy love, here abun- dantly display the riches of his grace, in gathering these lambs of the flock into his own fold, and in making them meet for an entrance into the spiritual land of promise, the Canaan of eternal rest.
We would also remember before thee, 0, thou hope of the afflicted ! the many deaf and dumb in this and other lands, who are still enveloped in the midnight of intellectual and moral darkness : we beseech thee, in thine abundant goodness, to make provision for their relief, and to cause, that while the consolations of thy Gospel are extending to almost every corner of the earth, these helpless ones may not be forgotten by their fellow-men.
In imploring these blessings, Almighty God, we humbly confess that we are most unworthy to receive them. For we are sinners in thy sight, and, if thou
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shouldest be strict to mark our iniquities, we could not stand before thee. We would look to Jesus Christ alone and to his righteousness, for acceptance with thee. 0, for his sake, wilt thou hear us, and grant us an answer of peace. And to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, be rendered everlasting praises. Amen."
In the autumn of 1818, the Asylum contained be- tween fifty and sixty pupils. As the salaries of the teachers, and other expenses of the school, very much exceeded the income from tuition, it became necessary to make frequent applications for charitable aid ; and as this support could not be permanently relied upon, it was resolved to petition Congress for a grant of money, or of land from the public domain. In this petition it was urged, that the Institution was disposed to extend its benefits to all parts of the Union ; that it had already received pupils from ten different Stales ; that one such school, well endowed, would probably be sufficient, during a long period ; and that, if in process of time, others should arise, they might be furnished with well-trained teachers from the mother institution, which would be an essential advantage.
In view of these considerations, the directors, on the 25th of January, 1819, voted that the Hon. Nathaniel Terry and the Hon. Thomas Williams, be authorized to present a petition to Congress, praying for a grant of money or land, for the benefit of the Asylum. The petition being promptly drawn up and presented, and being warmly advocated by the Connecticut delegation, and by many other influential and philanthropic members of both houses of Con-
REV. TITOS. II. GALLAUDET. 129
gress, prominent among whom was Henry Clay, then Speaker of the House of Representatives, a grant of twenty-three thousand acres of land was obtained, the avails of which have constituted a noble fund, and have already conferred incalculable blessings upon the unfortunate objects of its beneficence. Between the years 1825 and 1830, the number of pupils increased from seventy, to one hundred and forty. Thus the prosperity of the Asylum, the evidence of public confidence in its character, and of general satisfaction with its results, were sources of high gratification to its friends.
While Mr. Gallaudet was struggling with precarious health, in the midst of his arduous daily labors with the classes in the Asylum, his active and benevolent mind was continually contriving ways and means for drawing public attention to the school, and extending its privileges to as many as possible of that unfortu- nate class of pupils, for whose sole benefit it was estab- lished. It is difficult for us to conceive how great a draft teaching by signs, year in and year out, must make upon the physical system and the inventive faculties of the instructor. How, besides being in the school-room six hours in a day, can he have strength or heart for outside plans and labors, such as de- volved upon Mr. Grallaudet, as the first pioneer in this difficult system of education ? But such was the ardor with which he devoted all his strength, and more, to the new enterprise, that in his vacations, he allowed himself very little rest. Taking some of his pupils along with him, for such exhibitions as were demanded to secure general confidence in the practicability of, as it were, unstopping the ears of the deaf, of pouring 6*
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the lights of learning and religion into their dark minds, and "causing their hearts to sing for joy," he visited most of the principal towns in New England. When his exhausted energies required repose, he would not spare himself, lest the great experiment should fail for want of the last effort he could make ; though he was conscious, almost from the beginning, that this overwork was undermining his constitution, and threatened to bring him to an early grave.
Besides much other work abroad, of which he kept no account, in the spring or autumn of 1825, he pre- pared and delivered the discourse upon the duty and advantages of affording instruction to the deaf and dumb, at Burlington, Montpelier, Portland, Concord, and I believe some other places, which told power- fully upon the sympathies and cooperation of the hearers. The sermon was published soon after, and cannot, with justice, be withheld from the readers of this too tardy memoir.
SERMON.
u ' But as it is writen, to whom he was not spoken of they shall see ; and they that have not heard, shall understand.' Romans xv. 21.
"Prophecy inspires the Christian with courage in the cause of his Divine Master. Its accomplishment assures him that the Lord is on his side.
The former is like the dawning of an effulgent morn on the eye of the indefatigable traveler, cheering him with the promise of alacrity and vigor on his way. The latter is the full-orbed splendor of the noonday sun, illuminating the region he has left, and yielding him a bright retrospect of the course which has thus far
REV. THOS. II. GAT.LAUDET. 131
brought him so successfully ou his pilgrimage. Such a resolution animated, such a hope gladdened, the breast of Paul, the faithful, the intrepid servant of Jesus Christ. He was sent to preach to the Gentiles. He took courage from the declarations of prophecy. He witnessed its accomplishment ; and this furnished him with abundant support and consolation in his laborious and perilous service.
'For I will not dare to speak,' says he, 'of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to
make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed
Yen, so I have strived to preach, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's found- ation : but, as it is written, To wrhom he was not spoken of, they shall see ; and they that have not heard, shall understand.'
While contemplating this generous ardor of the apostle, let us consider his example most worthy of the imitation of us all. And would to God, my brethren, that his spirit were transfused into the breasts of all the disciples of Jesus Christ; for never, perhaps, in any period of the history of the Church, has she stretched forth her hands with more eagerness of sup- plication, for the undaunted and vigorous exertions, in her behalf, of all who delight in her prosperity.
Now her walls begin to rise, and her towers to lift their heads toward the heaven ; for many have come up to her help. Let not our hands refuse their labor in so glorious a work ; for soon she shall shine forth in all the strength and splendor of the New Jerusalem, becoming the joy and the praise of the whole earth.
Paul toiled for her prosperity. The Gentiles arrested his attention and shared his labors. And
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his labors derived fresh vigor from the declarations and accomplishment of prophecy.
If we, my brethren, have the spirit of Paul, the heathen of our day will not be neglected by us ; and prophecy will become to us, also, an abundant source of encouragement, that we shall not spend our strength among them for naught. These two simple truths form the whole plan of my discourse.
But who are the heathen f My heart sinks within me while giving the reply. Millions, millions of your fellow-men. Europe, Asia, Africa and America con- tain a melancholy host of immortal souls who are still enveloped with the midnight gloom of ignorance and superstition.
They who adore the idol which their own hands have formed ; who worship the orbs of heaven ; who sacrifice their own flesh to a vindictive deity; who bathe in the stream, or who pass through the fire, to purify themselves from sin ; who hope to gain paradise by practicing the most cruel bodily austerities ; who bid the widow burn on the funeral pile of her deceased husband, while her own offspring lights its flames ; who sing their profane incantations, and revel in brut- ish madness during their nightly orgies, at the instiga- tion of some miserable wretch, claiming the Name of wizard or magician ; who never heard of that name, the only one given under heaven by which man can be saved. These are some of the heathen.
Who are the heathen? I direct your observation nearer home. I point you to thousands within your own country, and villages, and towns, and cities, who have grown up, in this favored land, without any cor- rect knowledge of the God who made them ; of the
REV. TTTOP. H. GALLAUDET. 133
Savior who died to redeem all who trust in Him ; of the Spirit which is given to sanctify the heart ; of the Book of Eternal Life, which unfolds to us all that can alarm our fears or animate our hopes with regard to a future world. These are some of the heathen.
But are there still other heathen? Yes, my brethren, and I present them to the eye of your pity, an interest- ing, an affecting group of your fellow-men ; of those who are bone of your bone and flesh of your flesh ; who live encircled with all that can render life desirable ; in the midst of society, of knowledge, of the arts, of the sciences, of a free and happy government, of a widely preached Gospel ; and yet who know nothing of all these blessings ; who regard them with amaze- ment and a trembling concern ; who are lost in one per- petual gaze of wonder at the thousand mysteries which surround them ; who consider many of our most simple customs as perplexing enigmas ; who often make the most absurd conjectures respecting the weighty tran- sactions of civil society, or the august and solemn rites and ceremonies of religion ; who propose a thousand inquiries which cannot be answered, and pant for a deliverance which has not yet been afforded them.
These are some of the heathen; long-neglected heathen ; the poor deaf and dumb, whose sad neces- sities have been forgotten, while scarce a corner of the world has not been searched to find those who are yet ignorant of Jesus Christ.
Has the tear of pity bedewed your cheek, while perusing the terrific history of Juggernaut, rolling with infernal pomp his blood-stained car over the ex- piring victims of a superstition which surpasses all others in its impure and cruel rites ? Do you sympa-
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tliize with, tlie missionary who has taken his life in his hand and has gone to fight the battles of the cross against those powers of darkness ? Do you contribute your alms, and offer up your prayers, for the success of the enterprise in which he has embarked ?
Do you greet with the smile of welcome, and the kindest offices of friendship, the savage islanders whom providence has cast upon our shores? Do }^ou provide for their wants, and dispel, by the beams of Gospel truth, the thick darkness which has, heretofore, shroud- ed their understandings? Do you make them ac- quainted with the name of Jesus, and open to them the prospect, through his merits, of a bright and happy immortality ?
May the Lord reward you abundantly for these labors of love. Prosecute with still more ardor such efforts in the cause of Christ. Fan this missionary flame, until it shall burn in every Christian breast, and warm and invigorate the thousands whose bosoms glow with united zeal to diffuse the ' light of the knowledge of the glory of God, as it shines in the face of Jesus Christ,' to those who still sit in the vast and remote regions of the shadow of death.
Far be it from my purpose to divert your charities from so noble an object. Palsied be the hand that attempts to build up one part of the walls of the spir- itual Jerusalem by prostrating another in ruins. I would not draw forth your sympathy in behalf of one project of benevolence by decrying others. I will not impeach the sincerity of your exertions to enlarge the extent of the Redeemer's kingdom throughout the world, by telling you that charity begins at home ; that we have heathen enough in our own land ; that
IiKV. Til' OS. II. GALLAUDET. 135
we had better give the Gospel to our own countrymen, before we exhaust our resources upon those whom an ocean divides from us.
No, my brethren, I hold a very different language. I only put in a claim for one portion of the heathen. I only ask that the same stream of diffusive benevolence, which, fed by a thousand springs of private liberality, is rolling its mighty and fertilizing tide over the dreary deserts of ignorance and superstition and sin that lie in the other hemisphere, may afford one small rivulet to refresh and cheer a little barren spot in our native land, which has lain hitherto forgotten, thirsty, desolate. I only crave a cup of consolation, for the deaf and dumb, from the same fountain at which the Hindoo, the Afri- can, and the savage are beginning to draw the water of eternal life.
Do you inquire if the deaf and dumb truly deserve to be ranked among the heathen? With regard to their vices they surely do not ; for a kind Providence, who always tempers the wind to the shorn lambs of the flock, has given to the condition of these unfortun- ates many benefits. Possessing indeed the general traits of our common fallen nature, and subject to the same irregular propensities and desires which mark the depraved character of man, they have, nevertheless, been defended, by the very imprisonment of their minds, against much of the contagion of bad example ; against the scandal, the abuse, the falsehood, the pro- fanity, and the blasphemy, which their ears cannot hear, nor their tongues utter. Cruel is that hand which would lead them into the paths of sin ; base, beyond description, that wretch who would seduce them, by his guileful arts, into the haunts of guilt and ruin.
136 LIFE AND LABORS OF«
Thus, they have been kept, by the restraining grace of God, from much of the evil that is in the world.
Yet they need the same grace, as all of us need it, to enlighten the dark places of their understand- ings, and to mould their heart into a conformity to the Divine image ; they require, too, an interest in that Savior who was lifted up, that he might draw all men unto him.
I tread not upon dangerous ground, when I lay down this position ; that if it is our duty to instil divine truth into the minds of children as soon as they are able to receive it ; if we are bound by the injunc- tion of Christ to convey the glad news of salvation to every creature under heaven; then we fail to obey this injunction, if we neglect to make his name known to the poor deaf and dumb.
I have said that they are heathen. Truly they are so as it regards their knowledge of religious truth. The experience of more than seven years' familiar ac- quaintance with some of the most intelligent among them, has fully satisfied my mind, that, without in- struction, they must inevitably remain ignorant of the most simple truths, even of what is termed natural religion, and of all those doctrines of revealed religion, which must be the foundation of our hopes with regard to our eternal destiny.
I have seen the affecting spectacle of an immortal spirit, exhibiting the possession of every energy of thought and feeling which mark the most exalted of our species ; inhabiting a body arrived to its age of full and blooming maturity ; speaking through an eye, whose piercing luster beamed with intelligence and sparkled with joy at the acquisition of a single new
REV. THOS. IT GALLAUDET. 137
idea : I have seen such a spirit — oh, it was a melan- choly sight — earnestly contemplate
1 the boundless store
Of charms which Nature to her votary yields ;
The warbling woodland ; the resounding shore The pomp of groves and garniture of fields ; All that the genial ray of morning gilds ;
And all that echoes to the song of even ; All that the mountain's sheltering bosom shields ;
And all the dread magnificence of heaven.'
I have asked such a one, after a few glimmerings of truth had begun to dissipate the mental darkness in which it had been shrouded, what were its meditations at the sight of a friend on whom death had laid his icy hand, and whom the grave was about to receive into its cold and silent mansions. ' I thought I saw,' was the reply, ' the termination of being ; the destruction of all that constituted man. I had no notion of any existence beyond the grave. I knew not that there was a God who created and governs the world. I felt no accountability to him. My whole soul was en- grossed with the gratification of my sensual appetites ; with the decorations of dress ; the amusements of pleas- ure ; or the anticipations of accumulating wealth, and living in gayety and splendor.'
I have seen — it was a vision of delight — the same spirit, when it first received the notion of the Great Creator of the universe. I dare not attempt to describe its emotions at such an interesting moment. For I be- lieve, my brethren, it is impossible for us, who have grown up in the midst of a Christian people, and who were taught in our tenderest years the being and attri-
138 LIFE AND LABORS OF
butes of God, to form any just estimate of the astonish- ment, the awe, and the delight, which the first concep- tion of an invisible, immaterial, omnipotent, omniscient, and infinitely wise, just, benevolent, and holy Being, is calculated to inspire, when it breaks in upon a mind that, in the range of all its former thoughts, had never once conjectured that there was a Maker of this visible creation.
With what mingled emotions of wonder and rap- ture must the bosom of Columbus have been agitated, when the new hemisphere burst upon his view, open- ing to his imagination its boundless 'stores of beauty, wealth, and plenty. And yet how does such an event, magnificent and sublime indeed, compared with all sublunary affairs, dwindle into insignificance, when contrasted with the first conception that an immortal mind is led to form, not of a new world, but of the God who created all worlds.
I have seen the same spirit agitated with fearful solicitude at the prospect of meeting that God, at whose bar it was taught we must all appear, and anxiously inquiring what must be done to secure the favor of so pure and holy an intelligence.
I have seen the same spirit bowed beneath a sense of sin, and casting itself upon the mercy of God through a Eedeemer whose character and offices it had just begun to understand. And I have seen it, as I fondly trust, consoled, and soothed, and gladdened with the hope of an interest in Jesus Christ, and of being made meet for the inheritance of the saints in light.
A little while ago this immortal mind had its vision bounded by the narrow circle of temporal objects: now, its ken embraces the vast extent of its immortal
KEV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 139
existence, with all the momentous realities of that unseen world whither it is hastening. Then, oh, what a degradation ! it was kindred to the beasts of the field : now, what an exaltation ! we hope that it is allied to the spirits of the just made perfect; that it is elevated to communion with its God !
And now, my brethren, will you deem my plea too urgent, when I call upon you to imitate the example of the apostle of the Gentiles ; when I solicit your sympathy for those who as truly sit in darkness and in the region of the shadow of death as those did among wrhom Paul labored ; or as those heathen of the present day, to whom missionaries and Bibles are sent? For the moral waste-ground is alike desolate, whether it lies beneath an Asiatic or African sun, or whether it is found nearer at home, sadly contrasted with the gospel verdure which surrounds it.
Paul was constrained to preach to those among whom Christ had not been named. Oh ! aid us, then, while we long to make the same name precious to the deaf and dumb.
Is encouragement needed in so generous a work ? Let me present to your view the same sources of sup- port which animated the efforts of the apostle — I mean the encouragement of prophecy.
'But, as it is written, to whom he was not spoken of, they shall see ; and they that have not heard shall understand.'
The fullness of prophecy stamps it with the char- acter of divinity. Stretching, as it does, through a long line of events, and embracing within its scope, not only the immediate transactions to which it more di- rectly referred, but those remote occurrences which are
140 LIFE AND LABORS OF
unfolded in the progress of God's providential dispensa- tions ; it eludes in its development the keenest conjec- tures of the mortal who ventures too rashly to explore all its secret premonitions ; while in its wonderful ac- complishments, so obvious and striking when they have actually taken place, it demonstrates that it could not have sprung from any other source than the Omnis- cient Mind.
Thus many of the psalms which alluded more immediately to the mighty monarch who penned them and his illustrious son, have been seen to have a more important reference to One mightier than David, and more illustrious than Solomon.
Thus our Savior's woeful denunciation of ruin against the magnificent city which witnessed his min- istry, and sufferings, and death, bears also, with por- tentous presage, upon the goodly structure of the whole visible creation, whose final catastrophe is to be more terrible than the awful overthrow of Jerusalem.
And thus, we may suppose, the same prophecy which Paul took up as the support of his labors among the Gentiles, looked forward to events which are now passing before our eyes ; and which are to pass, until all the inspired predictions shall have received their full and glorious accomplishment. For if Isaiah, from whose writings the words of my text were originally taken, had spread before his illuminated vision the Gentiles of Paul's time, why may we not reasonably conclude that the Gentiles, the heathen, of our day, were also included in his cheering predictions ? And as a portion of these heathen, is it too bold an inference to suppose that he alluded to the deaf and dumb ?
' But, as it is written, to whom he was not spoken
REV. THOS. IT. GALLAUDET. 141
of, they shall see, and they that have not heard shall understand.'
I wish, therefore, my brethren, while pleading the cause of the deaf and dumb, to call forth your charity in their behalf from the most exalted and encouraging of all motives : that in aiding them you are but carry- ing into effect the will of God ; that you are cooperat- ing with him ; and that he is pledged to crown your labor with success, inasmuch as his own prophecy can- not otherwise receive its accomplishment.
And it is already receiving its accomplishment. I do not exaggerate the truth, when I say that they already begin to see to whom he was not spoken of; that they somewhat understand, who have not heard. For it is a most singular trait of the language of ges- tures and signs, that it is sufficiently significant and copious to admit of an application even to the most abstract intellectual, moral, and religious truth. On tins point I was once myself skeptical ; but doubt has yielded to actual observation of the fact ; and incredu- lity can no longer urge its scruples among those who have become familiar with the deaf and dumb. "Were the occasion a proper one, I should not deem it a dif- ficult task to satisfy you, upon the acknowledged prin- ciples of the philosophy of the human mind, that there is no more intrinsic or necessary connection between ideas of whatever kind, and audible or written language, than between the same ideas and the language of signs and gestures ; and that the latter has even one advan- tage over the former, inasmuch as it possesses a power of analogical and symbolical description which can never belong to any combination of purely arbitrary sounds and letters. But I choose the rather to place
142 LIFE AND LABOKS OF
it on the more safe and palpable gronnd of observation, and of fact. No one who has conversed with the in- telligent laborer* in this novel department of education, himself born deaf and dumb ; no one who has wit- nessed the almost magical facility with which he con- veys, by his own expressive language of signs, truths the most difficult and abstract, to his companions in misfortune ; no one who has observed the ingenious, and often subtle inquiries which they are prompt to make on the various subjects which have been commu- nicated to their minds, can withhold his assent from the acknowledgement of the position, that all-important intellectual and religious truth may be taught them by the language of signs, and even before they are capable of reading and understanding ours.
Do not suggest then, my brethren, that I call you to lavish }^our efforts upon a fruitless and unpromising soil. It has long, indeed, been overrun with the thorns and briers of ignorance ; but help us to plant and to water, and, under the blessing of Him who giveth the increase, it shall become like the garden of God, and put forth blossoms, and bear fruit, which may yet flourish with immortal beauty in the paradise above.
And, while we would thus endeavor to prepare the deaf and dumb for a better world, we will not neglect the means of making them happy and useful in the present life. How many of their hours are now consumed by a torpid indolence and vacuity of thought ! How cheerless is their perpetual solitude ! How are they cut off from the fellowship of man ! How ignorant are they of many of the common trans- actions of life ! How unable are they to rank even
* M. Laurent Clerc.
REV. TH OS. H. GALLAUDET. 143
with the most illiterate of their fellow-men ! How inaccessible to them are all the stores of knowledge and comfort which books contain I How great a bur- den do they often prove to their parents and friends ! How apt are they to be regarded by the passing glance of curiosity as little elevated above the idiot or the beast of the field !
We would soothe and cheer these lonely, forsaken and hapless beings. We would give them the enjoy- ment which active industry always affords. We would teach their judgment to distinguish, their imagination to portray, and their memory to retain, the various objects which the boundless stores of human and divine knowledge present to their view. We would make some of them capable of engaging in useful mechanical employments ; others of holding respect- able stations in private and public spheres of commer-* cial transactions ; and those who discover a genius and taste for such pursuits, of cultivating the fine arts ; and all, of thus becoming valuable members of society, of contributing to the common stock of happi- ness, and of gaining a livelihood by their own personal exertions. We would introduce them to the delights of social intercourse ; to a participation of the privileges of freemen ; to the dignity of citizens of a flourishing and happy community. We would furnish them with one of the highest solaces of retirement, that which may be drawn from the fountains of science and litera- ture ; and books should supply them with a perpetual source of instruction and delight, gladdening many an hour of solitude which is now filled up only with indolence or anxiety. We would render them a com- fort to their friends, and the prop of the declining
144 LIFE AND LABOES OF
years of those who have hitherto only bemoaned the sad continuance of their condition without any hope of relief. "We would shield them against contumely ; and almost render them no longer the objects even of condolence and pity. Thus they would soon have a common cause of gratitude Avith us, for all the tem- poral blessings which Providence sheds down upon this vale of tears.
And how would the feeble powers of him who thus attempts to plead before you the cause of the deaf and dumb, yield in efficacy to the sight of these children of suffering, could I but place them before your eyes ! Then I would make no appeal to your sympathy. I would only afford it an opportunity of having full scope, by the interesting and affecting spectacle which would excite it. I would point you to the man of mature age ; to the blooming youth ; and to the tender child; all eager to gather a few sheaves from that abundant harvest of knowledge, with which a kinder Providence has blessed you. I would explain to you, if indeed nature did not speak a language too forcible to need explanation, the lamen- tation of one bemoaning the long lapse of years which had rolled by him without furnishing one ray of knowledge or of hope with regard to his immortal destiny. I would bid you mark the intense and eager look of another, who was just catching the first rudi- ments of religious truth. And your tears should mingle with theirs who would be seen sympathizing, in all the fullness of a refined and susceptible imagi- nation, with the anguish of the venerable patriarch about to sacrifice his son ; or the grief of the tender Joseph sold by his unrelenting brethren ; or the agonies
REV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 14:5
of Him who bled to redeem both you and them from sin, and sorrow, and suffering.
Yes, the deaf and dumb would plead their own cause best. But they cannot do it. Their lip is sealed in eternal silence. They are scattered in lonely solitude throughout our land. They have excited but little compassion ; for uncomplaining sorrow, in our cold-hearted world, is apt to be neglected. Now, they see some dawning of hope. They venture, therefore, to ask aid from those who extend their generous charities to other objects of compassion ; and crave that they may not be quite overlooked amid the noble exertions that are making, it is to be hoped in the spirit, and with the zeal, of the great apostle of the Gentiles, to fulfill the animating prophecy ; that, ' to whom he was not spoken of, they shall see ; and they that have not heard shall understand.'
And can you wish, my brethren, for a sweeter recollection to refresh the slumbers of your nightly pillow, or the declining moments of a short and weary life, than to think that you have succored these chil- dren of misfortune, who look to you for the means of being delivered from a bondage more galling than that of the slave — from an ignorance more dreadful than that of the wild and untutored savage ? One tear of gratitude, glistening in the eye of these objects of your pity ; one smile of thankfulness, illuminating their countenance, would be a rich recompense for all you should do for them. To think that you had con- tributed to rescue an intelligent, susceptible and im- mortal mind, as it were, from nonexistence ; that you had imitated that Savior who went about doing good ; that you had solaced the aching bosom of parental 7
146 LIFE AND LABORS OF
love ; that you had introduced a fellow-being to those enjoyments of society in which you so richly partici- pate ; to the charms of books which had cheered so many of your hours of solitude ; and to the contem- plation of those sublime and affecting truths of relig- ion, which you profess to make the foundation of your dearest hopes : will not this be a more grateful theme of remembrance, than to look back upon the wasted delights amid which pleasure has wantoned ; the crumbling possessions for which avarice has toiled, or the fading honors for which ambition has strug- gled ? These, fascinating as they may be to the eyes of youthful hope, or bewildering as they do the dreams of our too sanguine imagination, soon pass away, like the brilliancy of the morning cloud, or the sparkling of the early dew. The other will be as immortal as the mind ; it will abide the scrutiny of conscience ; it will endure the test of that day of awful retribution, when standing, as we all must, at the bar of our final Judge, he will greet, with the plaudit of his gracious benediction, those who have given even a cup of cold water, in his name, to the meanest of his disciples — to the least of these little ones, whom his mysterious providence has cast upon our care.
May such an imitation of his example, in the spirit of his Gospel, be to each of us the surest pledge that we are truly his disciples, and that we are meet for the inheritance of that kingdom, where there will be no more sin to bemoan, or suffering to relieve. Amen."
Not contented with perfecting the system of panto- mime, for the social, literary, and religious education of
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 147
the deaf and dumb, Mr. Gallaudet extended his specu- lations to its applicability far beyond that circle, even to the heathen nations of strange tongues. Some ex- ceedingly interesting experiments, which he and his associate, M. Clerc, made, convinced him that it might be enlisted to great advantage in the cause of foreign missions, and reach the heathen mind much sooner than could be done in the long and tedious process of learning their barbarous dialects, or written languages. Accordingly he digested, wrote out, and published the following Essay, which for masterly analysis, philo- sophical acumen, and varied illustration, would of itself give the author a high rank with the inventive thinkers of his age.
ESSAY ON THE USE OF THE LANGUAGE OF
SIGNS.
M In the summer of 1818, a Chinese young man passed through Hartford, Connecticut, in which place there is an asylum for the education of the deaf and dumb. He was so ignorant of the English language that he could not express in it his most common wants. The Principal of the Asylum invited the stranger to spend an evening within its walls, and introduced him to M. Laurent Clerc, the celebrated deaf and dumb pupil of the Abbe Sicard, and, at the time, an assistant teacher in the Asylum. The object of this introduction was, to ascertain to what extent M. Clerc, who was entirely ignorant of the Chinese language, could con- duct an intelligible conversation with the foreigner by signs and gestures merely. The result of the experi- ment surprised all who were present. M. Clerc learned from the Chinese many interesting facts re-
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specting the place of his nativity, his parents and their family, his former pursuits in his own country, his residence in the United States, and his notions concern- ing God and a future state. By the aid of appropriate signs, also, Mr. Clerc ascertained the meaning of about twenty Chinese words. When the conversation began, the stranger appeared to be bewildered with amaze- ment at the novel kind of language that was addressed to him. Soon, however, he became deeply interested in the very expressive and significant manner which M. Clerc used to make himself understood ; and, be- fore one hour had expired, a very quick and lively interchange of thought took place between these so lately entire strangers to each other. The Chinese himself began to catch the spirit of his new deaf and dumb acquaintance, and to employ the language of the countenance and gestures, with considerable effect, to make himself understood.
About a year afterwards, the Principal of the Asy- lum visited Cornwall, a small village in Connecticut, where upwards of twenty heathen youth are procuring their education under the patronage of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. With the consent of the Principal of that Institution, the Principal of the Asylum one evening gathered round him several of these interesting strangers from the islands of the South Seas, and from different tribes 01 the North American Indians. The object of the in- terview was to ascertain how far a conversation could be conducted with them by signs and gestures merely. The result was similar to that in the case of M. Clerc's intercourse with the Chinese. Questions were proposed to them on a variety of topics relating to their own
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 149
individual history and that of their families, to the state of manners and morals in their respective conn- tries, and to their early religious knowledge. For example, Thomas Hoopoo, a native of Owhyhee, was asked if his parents were living, how many brothers and sisters he had, when he left his native shores, whether his countrymen worshiped idols and sacri- ficed human victims, how the women were treated by the men, what was the climate of his country and its productions, with many inquiries of a similar nature, all of which he well comprehended, and to many of which he himself replied by signs. The meaning, too, of a number of Owhyhean words was ascertained by signs merely, and found to correspond with the import Avhich had previously been assigned to them in a dic- tionary which had been for some time preparing in the school, and indeed, in a variety of instances, the most correct meaning of such words was established by the medium of signs, in a more satisfactory way than had been previously attempted by a different method. In all of this conversation, the heathen youth appeared to take a deep interest, and to have a peculiar aptitude both in comprehending the signs which were proposed to them, and in inventing those which were necessary for a reply. And, on the testimony of several of the South Sea Islanders, it appeared that not a few of the signs employed in the instruction of the deaf and dumb are precisely the same which their countiymen use to supply the deficiency of, or to give emphasis to, their own comparatively barren language — a fact which had, indeed, been anticipated, from the singular cir- cumstance so often observed by the teachers of the deaf and dumb among their pupils, that those who
150 LIFE AND LABORS OF
meet for the first time are able to understand each other fully on many common topics, nature having laid the foundation, in the very constitution of our species, and in the structure and processes of the visible creation, for a universal expression of the same idea on a vast variety of subjects, by similar signs.
Can the Christian philosopher make any important practical use of these singular and interesting pheno- mena? In this age of wonderful experiment, may they not furnish data from which successful principles may be derived and applied with reference to the in- struction of those heathen nations who have no written or printed language? May not this curious language of signs and gestures be made subservient to the speedy acquisition of the oral language of such people by the missionary who goes among them, or to the communi- cation to them of his language, or to their mutual in- tercourse with each other, not only on common but on momentous topics, even while they are ignorant en- tirely of each other's spoken language ? Who that is acquainted with the propensity of all rude nations to use signs and hieroglyphic symbols in their intercourse with each other, and in the preservation of their sim- ple historical annals; or who that has read the in- teresting narrative of Captain Hall's visit to the Loo- Choo islands, and the immense difficulties he had to encounter in his intercourse with the natives, and the continual necessity which they mutually felt of resort- ing to signs and gestures when every other expedient failed, can deem it a too sanguine expectation to be in- dulged, that a knowledge of that matured and syste- matized language of signs and gestures which is em- ployed in unfolding the latent intellectual and moral
LEV. TIIOS. II. GALLAUDET. 151
powers of one part of our species who are deprived of the organs of hearing, and consequently of the power of speech, might be employed with equal success among the other part of our species who are deaf to the words of our language, and who are dumb to us in attempting to make us understand the import of theirs ? To sum up this inquiry in a few words, of what use would the language of signs and gestures be to the missionary who is sent to a heathen people, possessing only an oral language, of which he is entirely ignorant, while they are equally ignorant of his ?
In solving this inquiry, two undeniable positions may be premised ; the one, that it is quite practicable to convey, by the countenance, signs, and gestures, the import, not only of all the terms employed to denote the various objects of nature and art, and the multi- farious business and concerns of common life, but also those relating to the process of abstraction and generalization, to the passions and emotions of the heart, and to the powers and faculties of the under- standing ; or, in other words, that the language of the countenance, signs, and gestures, is an accurate, sig- nificant, and copious medium of thought ; the other, that instances have occurred in the instruction of the deaf and dumb, in which, in the space of two years, five thousand words have been taught several intelli- gent pupils, who were previously entirely ignorant of them, and of all language, except that of their own natural signs, together with a command of written language, which would place them on an equality, with regard to the expression of their ideas, with the most intelligent persons among those heathen nations, who have nothing but an oral language.
152 LIFE AXD LABORS OF
Keeping these positions in mind, let us proceed to the examination of our subject. Let us suppose a missionary to be landed on one of the islands of the Pacific, for the purpose of conveying to the minds of its inhabitants the interesting truths of the Gospel. They are entirely ignorant of the English language, and the missionary is supposed to be as ignorant of theirs. It is in vain for him to begin with putting an English grammar or dictionary into the hands of the natives, and they cannot furnish him with one of theirs. Words, either of his or their language, must first be learned, before they can advance a single step in their intercourse with each other. His first attempt will naturally be to learn the language of the island. How is he to do this ? He points to the most common objects, and inquires their names; thus he may easily learn the names of everything which immediately ad- dresses itself to some one of the senses. In all this, he learns nothing by the ear, excepting, indeed, the names of the mere sounds of animals, or of nature, or of music ; besides these, all his knowledge of this part of the vocabulary of the island, is obtained through the medium of the eye. To be sure, the name, or ar- bitrary sign, for these various objects, is an oral one ; but this is quite a different thing from the import of this sign, which might as well have been expressed by an appropriate gesture, or by the manual alphabet of the deaf and dumb, or by written characters. But these objects which are addressed to the senses, are not always accessible. He may have forgotten the name of an animal, a tree, a fruit, or a utensil, and may wish to have it again repeated. The object must be sought before its name can be revived. But were
REV. TIIOS. IT. GALLAUDET. 153
th: missionary familiar With the language of signs — ■ and a little practice would make the native equally so — without stirring from the shade of the tree, under which they are conversing, they can, in imagination, gather round them all the objects of the visible world, and fix their names in the memory. These signs, too, being actual portraits of the objects, serve most easily to recall them when the arbitrary sound which denotes them may have escaped from the recollection. But this is comparatively the least important part of the labor of the missionary. He now wishes to learn the terms which denote the most common motions and actions of the body ; for instance, to eat, to drink, to walk, to run, to ride, to sleep. Must he wait till he and the native see some one performing these actions or shall he make a sign descriptive of them? The sign would be easily understood, and the name set- tled. In this respect he gains no new knowledge by the ear. It is all acquired by the eye. He and his companion are, as it were, deaf and dumb. He next is anxious to learn the words which denote some of the familiar occupations of life; perhaps to boil, to bake, to cut, to kindle a fire, to build a hut, &c. Must he go where these processes are actually taking place ? He need not, if he is familiar with the language of signs and gestures. He describes a kettle by signs; he places wood beneath it ; he fills it with water ; he kindles the fire ; he portrays the bubbling of the water; dips his finger into it, and draws it out suddenly, as if it were burned. He has, before, learned the name of water, and what do you call this bubbling water, he inquires; this water which burns my finger? The replv furnishes him with the name he sought, and a 7*
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sign is also established for the act of boiling, which may be profitably used in various other instances. And, in a similar way, he may get the meaning of all the other terms descriptive of common transactions. Still, it is his eye which teaches him, and not his ear. He is still, as well as his companion, practically deaf and dumb.
The various emotions of the heart, the founda- tion, let it be remembered, of all moral and religious instruction, perhaps, next demands the attention of our missionary. He may utter the words, love and hate ten thousand times, and ask as often, of the islander, what are the corresponding terms in his language, but to no purpose. A mother passes, who is caress- ing her infant with parental tenderness, and two friends soon follow her, who are exhibiting, by their looks and conversation, the emotion of attachment. Now he has something upon which to fix the attention of the native, and inquires, by what term he denotes this feeling ? The eye, and not the ear, is still the medium of intercourse. But he might have portrayed a woman, by appropriate signs, and the infant whom she caresses, and the friends who were conversing together, without waiting to have these scenes actu- ally take place ; and in addition to this, exhibit the emotion of love, strongly, in his own countenance, and the islander at once comprehends him, and thus a new word and a new symbolical sign are settled for future use. By similar processes of description, he may speedily add the names of all the passions and emotions to his vocabulary. He advances to the oper- ations of the intellect ; and what a Herculean task is before him ! By what process shall he present to the
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUBET. 155
observation of the islander such operations of the mind, as to think, to remember, to forget, to under- stand, to contemplate, to imagine ? He sees, at a dis- tance, a man building his hut ; the man finds a difficulty in the construction of its door ; he stops, and assumes the attitude of thought —the moment is a happy one — and the missionary inquires, by what term that visible exhibition of the internal working of the mind is de- noted, and gets a satisfactory reply. But this illustra- tive example might not have occurred for hours, or even days. By the language of signs, however, he can portray that very example, and a hundred others equally as pertinent; and thus, on the spot, acquire the new word which he seeks.
He rises from the ground; he describes by signs the setting of the sun and the appearing of the stars covering the whole concave of the sky ; he puts him- self in the attitude of contemplation ; his eye leisurely surveys the immense assemblage of the heavenly hosts ; his countenance exhibits the operation of his soul. The islander, who has already caught with enthusias- tic ardor this new and fascinating language, immedi- ately utters the word in his own tongue, which denotes to contemplate. Still the eye claims the honor of being the teacher, the ear serves only the humble purpose of furnishing an arbitrary name by which the imagination may again form and the memory review the associated thoughts.
Our fellow-students need a few adjectives to add to their nomenclature, such as high and low, hard and soft, long and short, round and square, bold and cow- ardly, alive and dead. They are quickly learned, for the various objects to which these epithets belong can
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easily be presented to the imagination by signs, and so can the qualities which are denoted by the above- mentioned terms, and all this is done while our mis- sionary and his friend are still reposing beneath their favorite bread-fruit tree.
And now pronouns must be be learned, and the cases of nouns, and the comparison of adjectives, and the moods and tenses of verbs. 'I give you a fish,' says the missionary ; ' what is that in your language ?' He speaks an unknown tongue. But he makes the sign for a fish, he points to himself as possessing it, he hands it to his companion, and signifies that he will not take it back, that it is to belong to his companion. He is immediately furnished with the appropriate phrase. He multiplies such examples, and he soon has a little stock of phrases, by the comparing of which together, he begins to elicit the structure and idiom of the language. Were he not to pursue this course he must wait day after day, till the suitable occasions occur illustrative of the phrases whose import he seeks. 1 How many tenses have your verbs ? ' The question is a useless one. He must allude to some known past or some anticipated future event, in order to obtain knowledge on this point ; and what carefulness is neces- sary, if he depends on the common occurrences of life as they transpire during his intercourse with the na- tives, in order to acquire an accurate knowledge of this very difficult part of all languages. But if he has well settled, by appropriate signs, the diurnal motion of the great luminary of heaven, the succession of days and nights, of weeks and months, nay, of hours and min- utes, all of which is quite practicable; and if he is expert in describing motions and actions, he can easily
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 157
portray a variety of events in such an order and con- nection as to mark all the varieties of time, and thus ascertain how this order and succession are denoted in all the various tenses of the language which it is his aim to acquire.
These illustrations might be made to any extent, and they would all go to establish the truth of the first position which was laid down, that the language of the countenance, signs, and gestures is an accurate, signifi- cant, and copious medium of thought. Consider, too, that it is only by the eye that it is possible to acquire a purely oral language ; for, suppose that the mis- sionary knows nothing of the systematic language of signs and gestures employed in the instruction of the deaf and dumb, and that he arrives among a people who have neither a written nor printed language. The words which he hectrs uttered are at first perfectly un- intelligible to him. How does he acquire their mean- ing? Solely by noticing with his eye, the objects to which they are applied, the actions which they denote, the passions or emotions which they describe, the occa- sions on which they are used, together with all that variety of visible circumstances, and those references to past, present, or future periods of time, which fur- nish the full and exact import of what they are intended to convey from another mind to his own. Now all this is, in fact, a language of signs and gestures, and the ear has nothing more to do with it, only as furnish- ing a certain set of audible symbols or signs, than the fingers of the deaf and dumb, in their acquisition of language, has, by furnishing a certain set of visible sym- bols or signs. If, then, instead of waiting for the actual presence of these objects, and the recurrence of these
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actions, passions, emotions, occasions, and circum- stances, lie can portray and describe them by the coun- tenance, signs, and gestures, whenever he wishes to take his lesson in the language that he is anxious to learn, how much time and labor will he be saved ! Besides being master of all the varieties of signs and gestures, and of the various expressions of the counte- nance, he can do that systematically which he must otherwise perform in a desultory, unconnected manner, and at distant intervals of time. It is important, too, in the acquisition of the meaning of words, which depend upon a variety of circumstances for their illus- tration, to select those circumstances only which are fairly comprised in the import of the terms, and to reject those which are irrelevant. And here is the prin- cipal difficulty in the acquisition of a new language by merely hearing it used, and among the people who speak it. The occasions on which words are used must be repeated again and again, before the exact assemblage of circumstances can be selected to which the words belong. But he who is versed in the language of signs and gestures, forms his own occasions, introduces only the appropriate circumstances, and rejects all the adven- titious ones. And this is doubtless the principal reason why the intelligent deaf and dumb pupil is often so happy in the accuracy of his definitions and the pre- cision of his use of words. The language, too, of the deaf and dumb admits of a kind of a permutation and combination, of which scarcely any other is suscepti- ble, unless, indeed, the Chinese furnish an exception. The missionary, for instance, has settled with the native the sign for a man and the sign for a sheep. He wishes to learn the native's term for sheoherd. He first des-
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 159
cribes by sign a sheep, he adds the sign for many, he portrays in his own person a man watching over these sheep, and he is at once put in possession of the term which he sought. Signs and gestures have a peculiar significancy, from their resemblance to the object which they are intended to denote ; and this is true even of those which are employed to denote intellectual objects, from the fact that there is scarcely an emotion of the heart, or an operation of the mind, which is not accompanied with some corresponding expression of countenance, or attitude of the body, or position of the limbs. Almost all the terms which we employ in spoken language to denote these emotions and opera- tions, are derived from the material world, or from some state, or motion, or action of the body ; and phi- losophers have complained of this as involving their discussions on the philosophy of the mind, in adven- titious difficulty and obscurity. Be that as it may, if the fact be so, the emotions of the heart and the opera- tions of the mind may as pertinently be expressed in symbolical signs as in symbolical words. And with- out incurring the charge of materialism, it may safely be asserted, that all the emotions of the heart are ac- companied with corresponding changes in the body ; and that many, if not all the operations of the mind produce the same effect, and that most of these changes are visible to the eye. In confirmation of this opinion, it is well known that the deaf and dumb, previous to instruction, have many natural and universal signs by which they denote various states of their minds and feelings. The missionary, therefore, who should be acquainted with these signs, so far as there is a real foundation for them in nature, would possess a very im-
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portant aid in acquiring the language of a heathen peo- ple, and of establishing a speedy medium of intercourse with them.
In the former part of this essay, the latter of the two positions premised was, that instances have oc- curred in the instruction of the deaf and dumb, in which, in the space of two years, five thousand words have been taught several intelligent pupils, who were previously entirely ignorant of them, and of all lan- guage excepting that of their own natural signs, to- gether with a command of language, which would place them on an equality with regard to the ex- pression of their ideas, with the most intelligent per- sons among those heathen nations, who have nothing but an oral language. In this, nothing is assumed as an hypothesis. An actual fact is taken, and forcibly suggests the following inquiry. If such a command of written language can be imparted by means of signs and gestures, in so short a space of time, to a mind enveloped in complete ignorance of words and their construction into sentences, what would hinder the communication of the same command of language to a heathen, who should be entirely ignorant of our lan- guage, and the obtaining from him also the corres- ponding words and their construction into sentences in his own language. If intelligent, he would be as capable of instruction by signs and gestures, as the deaf and dumb pupil, and taking this language of signs and gestures as the medium of communication, while he would be learning the English tongue, if master of his own, he could in his turn, teach it to his instructor. Thus a double object would be accom- plished at the same time and by the same process.
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 161
Indeed, a class might be formed of pupils from differ- ent heathen countries, and while the English language was taught all its members bj means of signs and gestures, by the same means each would be enabled, without any confusion or embarrassment, to express the corresponding words and phrases in his own tongue.
Without being, therefore, at the expense of ex- ploring our. western wilds, or visiting the islands of the sea, or the remote regions of the East, could in- telligent natives be procured from these different countries, all of whom should be well skilled in their respective languages, complete vocabularies, grammars and dictionaries of their language could be formed for the future operation of the missionary, and able in- terpreters be trained up to accompany them ; and all this might be accomplished here at home, in a shorter time, and at much less expense, and with less labor than are now bestowed upon the same object. How is it that the mind of the unlettered deaf and dumb pupil, and that of his instructor, are enabled to com- municate with each other? "When they first come into contact, they have no medium by which to in- terchange their thoughts. This medium is furnished by the language of signs and gestures, and it soon becomes so significant, accurate and copious, as to give the teacher the capacity of eliciting all the in- tellectual and moral powers of his pupil, and of gradu- ally conveying to his mind a thorough knowledge of the English language. Xo wider separation could possibly exist between the teacher and the rudest native of a heathen people. No greater difficulties would have to be encountered, nor mightier obstacles to be re-
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moved, in the one case than in the other. So that the experiment seems to have placed it beyond all doubt that under similar circumstances, the same result would be produced. How far a school for heathen youth conducted upon such a plan would be more rapid and successful in its operations, than those which employ the common mode of instruction by means of grammar and dictionaries, might soon be determined. Let some intelligent heathen youth, amiable and tractable in his disposition, quick and lively in his conception, master of his own language, and absolutely ignorant of ours, be taught upon the same plan which is pursued in the instruction of the deaf and dumb, and there is every reason to think, that he would acquire a more accurate and copious use of the English language, than could possibly be imparted to him, in a given space of time, by any other method ; while the important advantage would also be gained, of his being enabled by his familiarity with signs and gestures, to teach his own language to his instructor, and thus with the aid of each other, a grammar and dictionary of his language might be formed for the future use of the missionary among his countrymen. Should this interesting ex- periment succeed, a new era would be opened in the history of missionary efforts, and a new proof be afforded of the admirable connection which God often establishes between one part of his providential dis- pensation and another, making the most unlikely and long- neglected means, which some happy dis- covery brings to light, efficacious for the accomplish- ment of his wise and inscrutable designs. Should it fail, at least some new phenomena with regard to the human mind would be noticed, that might aid the
REV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 163
philosopher in his researches, no injury would be done, but a small expense would be incurred, and no greater disappointment or mortification happen, than often attends the efforts of those, who would reduce every new hypothesis to the test of experiment, and who are willing to run the risk of being thought to be sometimes too sanguine, or even chimerical in their projects, if there be but a probability that such projects may terminate in doing good to their fellow- men. For the philosopher who devotes his time and talents to the development of the intellectual and moral powers of the human mind, should be as willing to witness the overthrow of his most interesting hy- pothesis, as the chemist is, whose happiest discoveries have often been the unexpected result of his most unsuccessful experiments."
The following address was delivered by Mr. Gal- laudet at a public exhibition in Hartford, three years after the opening of the Asylum :
" The presence of this assembly assures us, that the deaf and dumb still hold a place in your regard. They come here to-day to give their friends an oppor- tunity of witnessing the progress which they may have made in the acquisition of language, and in the development of those intellectual and moral faculties which they possess, in common with their fellow -men. In doing this, I trust that both they and their in- structors are actuated, in some measure at least, by a sense of gratitude towards the numerous patrons and friends of the Asylum, who may reasonably expect, from time to time, thus to have the fruits of their bounty spread before them. And truly, I cannot but
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think that such an exhibition, however imperfect it may be, of what can be done to rescue the human mind from the grossest ignorance, and to lead it forth to the light of that truth which alone can purify, console and cheer it, must do something more than gratify the eye of mere curiosity — it will engage the affections of every benevolent heart.
Nearly sixty deaf and dumb persons are present, to whom, four years ago, their own existence was a wonder not to be explained ; nature without a God ; the world a complicated enigma ; life a little round of animal enjoyment, and death a terrific mystery. Many of these who, before they came here, knew not that they had a soul, can now discourse intelligibly with you on the operations and emotions of that soul ; they know, as well as we do, its immortal destiny ; they begin to read the pages of that book, from which beams forth the light of life and immortality ; they understand the requisitions of the Gospel ; they have learned who that Savior is, that can rescue them from the thraldom of ignorance and sin, and introduce them into the glorious liberty of the sons of God.
Their condition, thus happily meliorated, not only furnishes a source of high enjoyment to every be- nevolent mind, but holds forth a very powerful motive to those of us, on whom the Author of our being has conferred superior privileges, to cultivate a livelier gratitude, and a stronger sense of our obligations to him. The various dispensations of his providence are full of useful instruction, and, perhaps, there are few more so, than the existence of so many deaf and dumb persons in various parts of the world. The inquiry has often arisen in my own mind, why this
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 165
singular fact has taken place, and what relation it can bear to the general economy of that system of things which we have reason to believe has all its parts so united together as to form the most complete order and harmony. "Were a deaf and dumb person a prodigy, we might be led to think that he had no more connection with the general system of provi- dence, than those solitary instances of a similar kind which we meet with in the natural, vegetable or ani- mal creation. But when we see this class of people scattered among all nations, and rising in numbers to the importance, were they assembled together, of forming a very considerable community, we cannot but suppose that they sustain a connection with the rest of our species, which, although yet enveloped in obscurity, may, at some future period, be found to possess its clue influence upon the progress, which revelation teaches us the events of our world are making towards the final consummation of peace and happiness through all the tribes of man. May I tres- pass a little on your patience, while I state, in a very concise manner, some points of view in which I have thought this mystery of providence might be eluci- dated ; in doing which, I am free to confess, I shall deem myself happy, can I thus succeed, even by mere speculation, to increase the interest which you already feel towards these objects of your regard.
Their condition affords a new field for benevolent exertion ; and it, doubtless, was intended by Provi- dence, to test the charity of those on whom superior blessings are bestowed. Were there no wretchedness in the world, there could be no pity ; were there no suffering, there could be no compassion ; were there
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no want, there could be no charity. Besides, we learn almost every thing by contrast. The buds of spring look twice lovely as we remember the dreary desola- tion of winter. The sun sheds his brightest beams on the captive emerging from his dungeon. We hail the return of peace with transport, because the horrors of war have scarcely ceased to terrify the imagination, and even moral excellence derives part of its worth from its opposition to sin. Xow, by the introduction of the deaf and dumb among us, God may design both to test and exercise our charity, and to afford us, by contrast, a striking illustration of the value of those faculties of hearing and speech which we enjoy. Let us improve this lesson, and avoid that severe condem- nation which we must meet, should these fettered minds at last rise up in judgment against us.
But can the condition of these persons be made subservient, in any more direct way, to the good of mankind ? I am inclined to think so, unless, indeed, enthusiasm in a favorite pursuit may have taken the place of sober judgment.
We cannot influence man, unless we know what man is. We cannot make any successful efforts in improving the human mind, without well understand- ing its powers and faculties, and the modes of their development and operation. To what is education, in its thousand branches ; to what is government, with its various restraints ; to what is religion, with its tremendous sanctions, directed? All to one and the same object ; to the mind of man — to the immaterial and immortal principle within us. And how are edu- cation, government and religion to be brought to bear upon the mind, if you know not what this mind is ?
RET. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 167
Of what use are all the improvements in agriculture, to the farmer who is ignorant of the nature of the soil which he intends to cultivate, or rather, how would these improvements ever have been made, if all had been alike thus ignorant? The philosophy of the mind, or, as it is sometimes termed, by way of re- proach, metaphysics, though, if you w^ould call it by a more popular name, the study of human nature, it would pass very well in the world — this philosophy of the mind, if pursued upon the sure principle of actual observation and experiment, is no chimera.
Apply it to one single subject ; that of education. What is education ? It is that gradual process by which, with those helps which the ingenuity of man has invented, the faculties of the mind and heart are developed, and strengthened, and prepared for exer- cise, and the memory furnished with useful knowledge. Now, the better this mind is understood ; what are its strictly natural, and what its acquired powers, and how these powers expand and act, with astonishing variety, in different individuals : the more easily can the various modes of study be applied and accommo- dated to all the diversities of human intellect, and the sooner shall we arrive at the discovery of those general principles of education which will accomplish the grand object to be effected in the surest and most expeditious way. That these principles are yet sus- ceptible of vast improvement, there can be no doubt. The present day is teeming with wonders on this sub- ject. What would a Roman philosopher say, could he witness the facility with which the science of num- bers is now taught, compared with the rude and laborious process through which he had to pass, to
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acquire, in the whole course of his life, about as much dexterity in the use of figures, as most of our youth at common schools now possess ? And the same is true of various other departments of education. But much remains to be done. If I mistake not, sim- plicity, method, and the abandonment of a great deal of the unintelligible jargon of the schools, which nothing but long use has rendered sacred, will make that delightful to the youthful mind which is now irk- some, and that comparatively easy which is now diffi- cult. But all this can only be effected by a patient course of experiment, and by a careful analysis of the human mind.
Perhaps there are no circumstances under which the mind is placed, more singularly propitious for such experiments and analyses, than those in which we find an untaught deaf and dumb person. He is as nearly the child of nature as we can ever hope to find one. And possibly the simplicity and patience with which he must be taught, the absolute intelligibility which must illuminate every step that is taken in his educa- tion, and the singular and interesting aspects under which his mind is continually presenting itself, may furnish a course of observations and experiments which will have an important bearing upon the edu- cation of those who are in possession of all their faculties. At any rate it is pleasant to think that we may thus be indebted to these very children of mis- fortune, for some of the future benefits which our youth may enjoy in the task of acquiring knowledge.
I forbear to touch upon some other topics con- nected with this subject, lest I should too long deprive you of what I cannot but hope will recommend itself
KEV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 169
to the best affections of your hearts — the spectacle of a number of immortal minds, yesterday, as it were, buried in the profoundest shades of ignorance, but now, through the blessing of that Providence which so kindly tempers the wind to the lambs of the flock, led forth to the green pastures and living streams of knowledge, both human and divine. May they often find an interest in your prayers, that they may be led, too, to that Savior in whose heavenly presence all sorrow, and sin, and imperfection will cease for ever."
I have already said that Mr. Gallaudet's unremitting labor, as a teacher in the Asylum, together with the out-door work and increasing responsibility, which its growth devolved upon him as its principal, were too much for his physical constitution. While " the spirit was willing, the flesh was weak." His corres- pondence shows, that he felt the burden more and more from year to year, and he would have retired a good deal sooner than he did, if he could have seen his way clear to ask for a release.
Other more lucrative and less onerous services awaited his resignation, but his strong paternal love for the Asylum prevailed over all personal consid- erations and kept him at his post, till at length, though not till he had borne the heat and burden of the day for twelve years, a sense of duty to himself, to his family, and to the Institution, constrained him to tender his resignation to the Board on the 25th of April 1830, and it was accepted.
This brings the memoir down to that date, including the first, the most laborious, and the most important period of his public services, teeming, as we have seen, 8
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with the most ample proofs of the ability and zeal with which he discharged the duties of his great mission in this new department of Christian philanthropy.
But though he left " his first love," he could never forget it, amid all the cares and labors of all the remaining years of his life. He kept his eye and his heart fixed upon the Asylum, rejoiced in its prosperity, and from time to time furnished able papers to the periodicals devoted to the cause of deaf-mute education, which he bad done more than any other man in the country to inaugurate and establish. Two or three of these papers, which appeared at a much later date in the "Annals of the Education of the Deaf and Dumb," are so exceedingly interesting and instructive, that I could not excuse myself, were I to deny them a prom- inent insertion in this life of the Author.
The first is, On the Natural Language of Signs; and its Value and Uses in the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb.
" There is scarcely a more interesting sight than a bright, cheerful deaf mute, of one or two years of age, in a family composed of an intelligent, feeling, father and mother, and group of older brothers and sisters who can hear and speak. The strangeness of his condition, from the first moment of their discovering it, has attracted their curiosity. They wonder at it. They sympathize with it. Perhaps they lament over it. By degrees, they become familiar with it. They feel a peculiar attachment to this object of their regard. They do all which their love and ingenuity can invent, to make him happy. They rejoice to see, that he seems more and more to understand and appreciate what they say to him, and do for him.
KEY. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 171
But the greatest delight is yet to come. He is constantly struggling to make his wants and wishes known, and to convey his thoughts and emotions to those around him, by those various expressions of countenance, and descriptive signs and gestures, which his own spontaneous feelings lead him to employ. His originality and skill in doing this ; his talking- eye and face ; his graphic and beautiful pantomime ; his occasional pleasant mimicry ; his gladsome sat- isfaction when he finds that he has made himself understood ; his constant and rapid progress in this singular language which nature has taught him, and which is the only one as yet adapted to his isolated condition; the gradual developement of his intel- lectual and moral powers, the greater and greater ease with which the members of the family, he being the the teacher and they the pupils in this novel mode of intercourse, find that they can communicate with him ; and the increasing stores of useful knowledge which he is thus accumulating, all conspire to throw an interest, and even charm over such family scenes, of which those who have not participated in them can form but a faint conception.
The wind has been kindly tempered to the shorn lamb. The great principle of compensation has been effectually at work. Much substantial good has come out of apparent evil, and we feel almost constrained to conclude that one deaf-mute child in such a family, taking into account the spring which is thus imparted to the inventive powers of their minds, and the kind- liest charities of their hearts, with the acquisition by all of a novel, highly poetical, and singularly des- criptive language, adapted as well to spiritual as to
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material objects, and bringing kindred souls into a much more close and conscious communion than that of speech can possibly do, is to be regarded rather in the light of a blessing than of a misfortune.
It would be a grievous misfortune, however, if one redeeming principle had not been at work, the natural, spontaneous facility with which the deaf- mute child is able to make his thoughts and feelings known to those around him by the expressions of his countenance and appropriate signs and gestures ; and if those around, them, especially the mother and the younger members of the family, were not capable of easily understanding this language of the deaf-mute, and of rapidly learning it from him, and being able, in their turn, to use it.
This natural language of signs, spontaneously em- ployed by the deaf-mute, and gradually enlarged and rendered more and more accurately descriptive by himself, and sometimes by the ingenuity also, of the members of the family, develops itself with a re- markable similarity of features in all such families. Its similarity is so great, that two uneducated deaf- mutes, who have never had any intercourse with others in a similar condition, can, at their first inter- view, communicate with each other, on a considerable number of common subjects. Let them be together a few days, or weeks, and the freedom and extent of this communication will be found to be constantly increasing, as they become familiar which each other's somewhat peculiar and dialectic modes of expression. They will be found, too, constantly and readily re- sorting to explanations and illustrations by the lan- guage of signs, and even to the invention of new ones,
REV. TIIOS. H. GALLAUDET. 173
by wliicli to convey thoughts and feelings, and which prove to be, at last, perfectly intelligible.
The universality of this natural language of signs is manifested also, in the striking fact that the in- structors of the deaf and dumb, who have become familiar, by their habitual and long continued inter- course with their pupils, with this language in all its varieties and peculiarities, find it easy, as they meet, in different parts of the country, with the uneducated deaf and dumb, to converse with them on a consider- able range of common subjects. The writer of this article some years ago, was requested, with a fellow laborer of his, at the time, in the American Asylum, to visit a deaf-mute in a neighboring town, about eighty years of age, possessed of some property, and desirous of making a will. He could not read, nor write, nor use the manual alphabet. He had no way of communicating his ideas but by natural signs. By means of such signs, exhibit- ing a great deal of ingenuity on the part of the old man, myself and companion were able to under- stand definitely the disposition which he wished to make of his property among his relatives and friends, and thus to enable him to carry his views into effect under the sanction of law.
There is still another illustration of the univer- sality of this natural language of signs in the immediate facility which which an intelligent, uneducated deaf mute, arriving at the Asylum, is always found to hold communication with its inmates. After a short resi- dence in the family, he makes rapid progress in this natural language of signs, enlarged as it is, by culture, into greater copiousness, and marked by more pre-
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cision and accuracy, than in those detached families throughout the country in which isolated deaf mutes exist ; and improved into a somewhat regular system by the skill of 'those who have been engaged, for a long course of years, in this department of education. Yet it retains its original features. It is not an arbitrary, conventional language. It is, in the main, picture- like and symbolical, corresponding, in these respects, to the ideas and objects which is used to denote. The newly arrived deaf-mute has been well acquainted with its elements in the home of his childhood. He recognizes them as the same which constituted the basis of those very signs which he, and others around him, have already invented and used, and sometimes they prove to be identically the same with his old ones, or so nearly so that they are at once intelligible to him. He finds himself, as it were, among his countrymen. They use his native language, more copious, indeed, and elevated than that to which he had been accustomed, but yet virtually the same: so that, perceiving at the outset that he understands others, and that they understand him, he is encouraged to proceed, and, to his surprise, in a comparatively short space of time, slides into a familiar acquaintance with the language of natural signs, in its full extent, as employed by the more advanced pupils, and by the instructors themselves, in the little community of which he has become a member. -
The contentment which this throws around his new lot, removed as he is from the endearments of his native home ; the pleasure which he derives from the acquisition that he is constantly making in the varieties of a more enlarged medium of social inter-
EEV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 175
course adapted to his peculiar condition, and of interesting and useful knowledge from his better in- structed associates, and from the teachers ; the delight- ful consciousness of his expanding powers of thought and feeling ; the hope of future progress ; and the ability, all the while, to make his wants and wishes known, and thus to obtain sympathy, counsel, and aid ; all these things go not only to show what the natural language of signs is, a much, more definite, copious, and effective language than many may sup- pose it to be, but to prove and illustrate its immense value to the deaf and -dumb, especially to those who have just arrived at an institution for their benefit, and are commencing the course of instruction, and to those, too, who are concerned in giving this instruction.
To show how nature, where a necessity exists, prompts to the invention and use of this language of signs, and to exhibit from another interesting point of view, the features of its universality, a fact worth, mentioning is to be found in Major Stephen H. Long's Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains, in 1819. It seems, from what he tells us, that the aboriginal Indians, west of the Mis- sissippi, consist of different tribes, having either differ- ent languages, or dialects of the same language. Some are unable to communicate with others by speech ; while they have fallen into a language of signs to remedy this inconvenience, which has been long used among them.
Major Long's work contains an accurate description of many of these signs, and it is surprising to notice, how not a few of them are almost identically the same with those which the deaf and dumb employ to describe
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the same things, while others have such general feat- ures of resemblance as to show that they originate from elements of this sign-language which nature furnishes to man wherever he is found, whether barbarous or civilized. Such are the following : Sun. — The forefinger and thumb are brought together at tip, so as to form a circle, and held upwards to- wards the sun's track. To indicate any particular time of the daj7, the hand with the sign of the sun is stretched out towards the east horizon, and then gradually elevated, to show the ascent of that lumi- nary, until the hand arrives in the proper direction to indicate the part of the heavens in which the sun will be at the given time. Moon. — The thumb and finger open are elevated to- wards the right ear. This last sign is generally pre- ceded by the sign of the night or darkness. Seeing. — The forefinger, in the attitude of pointing, is passed from the eye towards the real or imaginary object. Theft. — The left forearm is held horizontally, a little forward of across the body, and the right hand pass- ing under it with a quick motion, seems to grasp something, and is suddenly withdrawn. Truth. — The forefinger is passed, in the attitude of pointing, from the mouth forward in a line curving a little upward, the thumb and other fingers being completely closed. Love. — The clenched hand is pressed hard upon the
breast. Now, or at present. — The two hands, forming each a hollow, are brought near each other, and put in a tremulous motion upwards and downwards.
KEY. THOS. 11. c all audi: r. 177
Done, or finished. — The hands are placed, edge up and
down, parallel to eaeli other, the right hand without;
whieh latter is drawn back as if cutting something.
The extent to which these natural signs should be encouraged and made use of in this process, is a ques- tion about which there exists considerable diversity of views, especially in Europe, among the various schools, and among teachers whose talents and experience enti- tle their respective opinions to much weight.
My object is not to discuss this question of extent (though I may touch upon it as I go along), but to show the intrinsic value, and, indeed, indispensable necessity of the use of natural signs in the education of the deaf and dumb ; to a great degree in the earlier stages of their education, and, in some degree, through the whole course of it. In attempting this, I wish I had time to go, somewhat at length, into the genius of this natural language of signs ; to compare it with merely oral language ; and to show, as I think I could, its decided superiority over the latter, so far as respects its peculiar adaptation to the mind of childhood and early youth, when objects addressed to the senses, and especially to the sight, have such sway over this mind ; when the expressions of the human countenance, with the general air and manners, attitudes and movements of the body, are so closely scrutinized by the young observer, while he receives from these sources some of the deepest and most lasting impressions that are ever made on his intellect and heart'; and when his first understanding of the meaning of words, singly, or in short colloquial phrases, which he hears uttered, de- pends so much on the unfolding of this meaning by objects, or combinations of objects and circumstances 8*
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addressed solely to his eye. The natural language of signs is abundantly capable of either portraying or re- calling these objects and circumstances. The life, picture-like delineation, pantomimic spirit, variety, and grace with which this may be done, with the transpar- ent beaming forth of the soul of him who communi- cates, through the eye, the countenance, the attitudes, movements, and gestures of the body, to the youthful mind that receives the communication, constitutes a visual language which has a charm for such a mind, and a perspicuity, too, for such a purpose, that merely oral language does not possess.
It is greatly to be regretted that much more of this visual language does not accompany the oral, in the domestic circle, and, indeed, in all our social inter- course. Our public speakers often show the want of it, in their unimpassioned looks, frigid, monotonous attitude, and quiescent limbs, even when they are utter- ing the most eloquent and soul-stirring thoughts. Would they but look out and act out these thoughts, as well as speak them, how much greater power their elo- quence would have ! AVhy has the Creator furnished us with such an elaborate and wonderful apparatus of nerves and muscles, to subserve the purposes of this visual language ; with such an eye and countenance, as variable in their expressions as are all the internal workings of the soul, and graphically indicative of them ; and with such a versatility of attitude and ges- ture, susceptible of being 'known and read of all men,' thus to supply the deficiencies of our oral intercourse, and to perfect the communion of one soul with another, if we are to make no more use of these things than if we were so many colorless and motionless statues ? If
EEV. TIIOS. II. GALLAUDET. 179
tliis visual language were vastly more cultivated than it is, and employed in the early training of children and youth in our families, schools, and other seminaries of learning, we should find its happy results in all the processes of education ; on all occasions where the per- suasions of eloquence are employed, and in the higher zest which would be given to the enjoyments of social life. As a people, especially in New England, we ought to be sensible of our deficiency in this respect, and labor to remove it. TVe have latent enthusiasm enough to do this, but we have so long kept it under restraint, as if we were too fearful or too cautious to look, move, and act as we think and feel, that we need strong convictions of the judgment, and a course of persevering effort to break up the inveteracy of the habit. Let us begin in our intercourse with children and youth, and lead them, by our example, to have the soul speak out freely in their looks and movements, and more than half the work will be done.
Most happily for the deaf and dumb, the God of nature has laid a necessity upon them to employ, as soon as they have wants and desires to express, this visual language, and to enlarge and improve it as their wants and desires expand. It is an unwise attempt, which some have made, to endeavor to check their pro- pensity to do this in their childhood, if, indeed, it is possible to check it. It is cruel to try to take from them this spontaneous and ready means of intelligible intercourse, to a great extent, with those around them, of the development of their intellectual and moral faculties, and of the pleasure which they feel in this constant exer- cise of their inventive powers, and from the conscious- ness of being able to overcome, in no small degree, the
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difficulties of their peculiar condition, and to help raise themselves to the dignity and delight of social exist- ence. I would as soon think of tying the wings of the young lark that is making its first, aspiring essays to fly upward, and soar in the ethereal expanse.
I know it has been maintained that this natural language of signs, if cultivated in the childhood and earlier instruction of the deaf-mute, will retard his acquisition of written and printed language ; of useful knowledge ; and, if he should prove to be capable of acquiring it (which is far from being the case in the most numerous instances), of the ability to articulate intelligibly for the purposes of promiscuous conver- sation, and to understand, by the eye, what is spoken to him by others. But, on the other hand, this visual language, absolutely essential, in some form or other, to taking successfully the first steps of his education, and needed, in a greater or less degree, through the whole course of it (if wisely used, and kept subordinate when it ought to be), is an important auxiliary in accomplishing these very objects. It will be used more or less by the deaf and dumb themselves, do what you will to prevent it. It is used, more or less, in the actual process of instruction, sometimes of design, and sometimes involuntarily, by those who, in theory, decry it the most. As I have already said, the only true question concerning its value and use, is that of the extent to which it ought to be employed.
The great value of this visual language of natural signs, manifested by the countenance, and the attitudes, movements, and gestures of the body, in the education of the deaf and dumb, will appear, if we consider, as I now propose to do, some of its other uses.
REV. THOS. IT. GALLAUDET. i 8 L
How can the deaf-mute in the family and the school be brought under a wholesome government and disci- pline without it ? Moral influence is the great instru- ment to be used in this government and discipline. The conscience is to be addressed and enlightened ; the right and the wrong to be unfolded and made clear to the mind ; a knowledge of those simple truths which affect our character and conduct to be conveyed to him who is, as yet, so ignorant of them. The blessings that attend virtue, and the evils of vice, are to be portrayed. Mo- tives are to be presented. An enlightened self-interest is to be awakened ; a laudable ambition to be excited ; hope to be enkindled ; and, sometimes, fear to be aroused. Nay, the sanctions of religion must be em- ployed to complete the work. For the deaf-mute has his religious susceptibilities, implanted in his moral constitution by the Author of it, as well as other chil- dren. To feel and act entirely right, so as to secure the efficacy of a settled principle, and the uniformity of a fixed habit, he must feel and act religiously, in view of his relation and responsibility to God, of the sanc- tions of the divine law, and of the encouragements of the covenant of grace. The Bible, the Savior, and the retributions of the future world, must be lights to shine upon his soul. He must be taught to pray, to pray in secret to his Father in heaven, and thus, sensible of his dependence and weakness, to look above for wis- dom, strength, and grace to aid him in being and doing right. This moral influence, too, must reach him as a social, religious being. He must feel it in common with others of the community to which he belongs. Its effect on us all is greatly enhanced by thus feeling it. Family and social worship, and the services of the
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sanctuary, bear witness to this truth. What would be- come of the laws of God, and of the laws of man, of the good order, or even the very existence of society, if men did not come together to bow before their com- mon Lord, and collectively to learn his will, their rela- tions to him and to each other, and their duty ? These principles should be recognized more distinctly, and carried into effect more faithfully than they are, in the education of all our children and youth. They apply with peculiar force to deaf-mutes, and to the schools in which they are gathered. When carried out judi- ciously, they render the management of such schools comparatively easy and delightful.
This aggregate moral influence, which I have thus described, cannot be brought to bear upon the youth- ful mind without language, and a language intelligible to such a mind. There must be teacher and learner ; one who addresses, and one who is addressed. There must be a suitable medium of communication between these two minds, a common language which both un- derstand. For, let it never be forgotten that, in order to exercise a successful moral influence over the child, in his government and discipline, so as to lead him to do right of choice, and with a hearty good will, his confidence in his guide and governor must be secured. In cultivating this confidence, he must often be listened to patiently by the parent and teacher. He will have his questions to ask, his inquiries to make, his doubts and difficulties to state, that he may fully understand and feel what his duty is, and sometimes his excuses and extenuations to give, that he may escape blame when he does not deserve it. Collisions of feeling and of interest will arise between him and his fellows.
REV. TirOS. n. GALLAUDET. 183
Eights, on the one side or on the other, have been assailed, or wrongs inflicted. Each of the parties claims the privilege of stating his own case. They must both be heard. Facts must be inquired into, perhaps witnesses called in. Else, impartial and strict justice cannot be done. And if it is not done, confi- dence is weakened, and sometimes lost, and authority by moral influence paralyzed, or destroyed.
Eor all these purposes the child must have a lan- guage at command, common to him and the teacher, by which to make his thoughts and feelings known. This is indispensable to the exercise of a wholesome government and discipline over him.
In the exercise of this government and discipline, by a moral influence, one other very important thing is to be taken into account. Moral and relioious
o
truths, as we have seen, have to be presented by the teacher to the pupil. But the latter is too young to receive and understand these truths under the forms of abstract propositions. Abstract terms, and those of generalization, are not now level to his capacity. He as yet thinks in particulars. The teacher must go into particulars. He must describe individuals as acting right or wrong ; state special cases ; draw out detailed circumstances ; give facts graphically and minutely delineated, in order to bring out the truths he wishes to present and inculcate, and to offer the motives which will have pertinency and efficacy. By degrees, he can unfold the powers of abstraction and generalization in the child, and be doing his work in a more concise way. But, at first, and indeed for- a considerable length of time, he must patiently take the slow, inductive process. It cannot be hurried.
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To conduct this process, the teacher needs a language, common to him and the child, having graphical, de- lineating, and descriptive powers, capable of particular- izing thought, of giving to it a ' local habitation and a name.' One prominent defect in the moral and re- ligious training of children and youth, consists in not regarding these very obvious and simple principles of their successful instruction, so as to bring them, in- telligently and voluntarily, under an efficacious moral influence. It is, undoubtedly, to meet this case, exist- ing, not only among children and youth, but among thousands of ignorant and undisciplined adult minds, that so much of the Bible abounds with the detailed facts of biography and history; with circumstantial descriptions ; with the results, for good or evil, of hu- man conduct ; with living examples, and with simple and touching parables.
We see, then, for these various and conclusive reasons, the necessity of a common language, adequate to the exigencies of the case, to be employed by the teacher and the deaf mute, in order that a wholesome government and discipline may be exercised over him, through a moral influence.
Where shall we find this language, or must we go to work and create one for the purpose ? The deaf mute cannot hear what you say to him. He can see the motions of your lips, and organs of speech, more or less distinctly, when you utter words. But it is a long and laborious process, even in the comparatively few cases of complete success, to teach him to dis- criminate accurately between the various motions of the organs of speech, and so to notice their combi- nations, as to know the words which are intended to
REV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 185
be uttered — words, too, which are useless for the pur- pose of intercommunication until their meaning has been explained to him. To do this, and to teach him the proper combinations of words, so as to be able to impart the most simple kind of moral and religious instruction, is, also, another long and laborious pro- cess ; while, at the same time, I do not hesitate to say, without fear of contradiction, that neither of these processes can be successfully carried on unless resort is had to natural signs.
Then, to make this language of intercommunication complete, as we have already seen, for the purposes of government and discipline, the deaf mute must be able to convey his thoughts and feelings to the teacher. Shall he be fitted to do this by being taught how to articulate intelligibly, without the ear to guide him ? You have another long and laborious process to go through, before, even in the few successful cases, he can have a sufficient stock of words which he under- stands, and be able to form their proper combinations, in order to furnish him with an adequate medium for thus conveying his thoughts and feelings. Nor can this process be carried on, as it ought to be, without the use of natural signs.
Similar difficulties must arise in the use of the manual alphabet for spelling words on the fingers, or in presenting written or printed words to the eye of the deaf mute ; though it is true that these difficulties will principally consist in teaching him the meaning of these words, and their combinations, to such an extent as to furnish the means of a free intercommunication between him and the teacher. And here, again, natural signs have their great value and necessary uses.
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Bear in mind, too, that this common language should be one by which, as has been shown, the deaf mute can intelligibly conduct his private devotions, and join in social religious exercises with his fellow- pupils. Otherwise, one very important means of their proper government and discipline is wanting.
Now even admitting, wrhat I yet believe to be impracticable, that, after very long and laborious pro- cesses, a sufficient command of language can be ob- tained by the deaf mute, in one or the other of these ways that have been mentioned, for the various pur- poses of his government and discipline by moral in- fluence, and without the use at all of natural signs, still great and needless evils must accrue from such a course. A considerable time must elapse — two or three years, in not a few cases more — before the object can, in a good degree, be accomplished. In the mean- while, the teacher and pupil are, at first, quite destitute of, and, all along, sadly deficient in an adequate me- dium of intercommunication. Under such embarrass- ments, is there not a better way, seasonably, intelli- gibly and effectually, to cultivate the moral faculties of the deaf mute, bring him under a wholesome moral influence, and train him in the right way ; to furnish a due preparation of his mind and heart to engage in his own private devotions, and to enjoy the privilege of social religious exercises and instruction with his fellow-pupils; and to secure a judicious government and discipline in the institutions intended for his benefit ?
The God of Nature and of Providence has kindly furnished the means of doing this. The deaf mute has already spontaneously used, in its elementary
RET. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 187
features, before he comes to the school, that natural language of signs, which, improved by the skill of teachers, and current as a medium of social inter- course among the pupils at such schools, is adequate to the exigency. As we have seen, in the preceding number, he easily and quickly becomes acquainted with this improved language by his constant, familiar intercommunication with the teachers and his fellow- pupils. By means of it his government and discipline, through a kind moral influence, can at once be begun ; for he has a language common to him and his teacher. Every day he is improving in this language ; and this medium of moral influence is rapidly enlarging. His mind becomes more and more enlightened ; his con- science more and more easily addressed ; his heart more and more prepared to be accessible to the simple truths and precepts of the word of God. The affect- ing contents of that word arc gradually unfolded to him. lie recognizes his relation to God and to his fellow-men. He learns much of the divine character, and of his own obligations and duties. At length, he is made to understand, like a child, indeed, but yet to understand the way of salvation through Jesus Christ. If he has the disposition to pray, he has a simple, beautiful language of his own, in which to address his Father in Heaven. He comes, every morning and evening, with his associates, to be instructed from the word of God, and to unite with this silent assembly, through the medium of natural signs, employed for both these purposes by the teacher, in a most expres- sive and touching mode of worship before the throne of grace. On the Sabbath, he enjoys its sacred privi- lege?. The moral influence of the government and
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discipline of the institution over the objects of its care is thus secured, and rendered permanently efficient, through the medium of the language of natural signs, much, very much sooner, and with vastly more success, than it could be obtained in any other way, if, indeed, it could be obtained at all, to any effectual purpose, writhout the use of this language.
Some, while reading these remarks, may hesitate, and have a shade of skepticism pass over their minds, with regard to the competency of the natural language of signs thus to accomplish the various objects which have been mentioned, in the moral and religious train- ing of the deaf mute, and in his government and dis- cipline. This language may seem to them so simple ; so limited, in its narrow range, to the delineation and description of merely sensible things ; so barren of all modes of expressing what lies beyond the province of sense, within the human mind and heart, and in the spiritual world, as to lead them to doubt very much what the writer has said about its efficacy in these re- spects, and to attribute his descriptions of its genius and power to the ardor of a professional enthusiasm.
He pleads guilty, if needs be, to the charge of this enthusiasm; though mellowed, as it is, by advancing years, and the lapse of a considerable portion of time since the vigor of his manhood was devoted to the in- instruction of the deaf and dumb, and writing, as he does, with the retrospective soberness of one who re- traces, in a quiet resting place, the difficulties and perplexities, as well as facilities of a journey long ago taken, his convictions are as strong as they ever were, that the deaf and dumb are themselves the original sources of the fundamental processes, so far as Ian-
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 189
guage is concerned, of conducting their education, and that, in this case, as well as in all others which relate to education generally, it is the part of wisdom to find the path which nature points out, and to follow it. Experience, philosophy and art may often do a great deal to remove some of the roughnesses of this path, to make it more smooth and straight, more easily and expeditiously to be trod, more pleasant and delightful, but it will not do to quit it, else those whom you would lead in the way of knowledge, of truth, and of duty, will follow on with irksome and reluctant steps, if, indeed, they follow at all, except as the blind do when they are led by the blind, to incur the risk, every moment, of some difficulty or danger.
But this natural language of signs, comprising the various modes which the God of Nature has provided for one soul to hold communion with another, through the eye and countenance, the attitudes, movements and gestures of the body, is by no means so limited in its powers and range, as it might appear to be to him who has given it only a cursory attention, and who has not watched its practical applications and results.
In what relates to the expression of passion and emotion, and of all the finer and stronger sentiments of the heart, this language is eminently appropriate and copious. Here, without it, oral language utterly fails ; while it alone, without oral language, often overwhelms us with wonder by its mysterious power. In this province its power, probably, will be denied by none. But the expression of the passions, emo- tions and sentiments, constitutes no small part of that common language which, as we have seen, both the deaf mute and his teacher must possess, in order that
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his moral and religious training may be properly con- ducted, and a wholesome government and discipline over him be secured. How can he be taught the ne- cessity and the mode of controlling, directing, and, at times, subduing the risings and movements of this sensitive part of his moral constitution, unless his at- tention is turned to the varieties, character and results of its operations ? How shall he be taught, for in- stance, that anger, within certain limits, is sometimes justifiable, while, at other times, it has no redeeming quality, but is utterly unjustifiable and wrong, unless this feeling is brought before his cognizance, and its nature and effects described ? In this, as in other similar cases, the natural language of signs furnishes the only thorough and successful mode of doing this. Its necessity and value will be fully manifest, if we consider what an important part of the moral and religious training of children and youth consists in leading them to bring their passions, emotions and sentiments under the sway of conscience, enlightened by the word of God. In one word, the heart is the principal thing which we must aim to reach in the education of the deaf mute, as well as of other chil- dren ; and the heart claims, as its peculiar and appro- priate language, that of the eye and countenance ; that of the attitudes, movements and gestures of the body.
The teacher of the deaf and dumb must have tne use of this language, not only to convey command and precept, but to enforce both, by the power of a liv- ing example. He wishes to train aright the passions, emotions, and sentiments of those entrusted to his care. He should strive to be their model. But this
REV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 191
model must not be a statue. He must look, act, move, and demean himself, at all times, in such ways as to let it be seen that his is a soul of rectitude, purity, and benevolence, swayed by love to God, and love to man — self-denying, patient, kind, and forbearing, and yet firm, not only in obeying himself the right, but, in the exercise of a lawful authority, requiring others to obey it. His eye, his countenance, his whole air and manner, should be the spontaneous outward mani- festations of these inward feelings. The clearness and spirit of such manifestations, depend greatly on the naturalness, the ease, and vivacity with which his whole physical man responds to the inner man of the heart. If he does not apppreciate the value of the natural language of signs, if he does not cherish and cultivate it to the highest degree of force, beauty, and grace which it is possible for him to reach, he has not before him the true standard of what a thoroughly qualified teacher of the deaf and dumb should aspire to be. He may speak to them on his lips or fingers, or address them on his black-board or slate ; helping himself out, perhaps, with some signs and gestures, lacking life, clearness, and grace, and with an un- moved and unmoving countenance ; but he is not the one to succeed as a guide and example in conducting their moral and religious education, or in exercising a wholesome paternal government and discipline over them. Neither is he qualified to conduct, in any good degree, as they ought to be conducted, the other processes of their education.
It would be interesting to inquire, how far these principles apply to the teachers of children and youth who are in possession of all their faculties. Hid time
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permit, I would attempt to show that they do thus apply with peculiar force.
But somethiug more, it will be said, is necessary, in the training and governing of the deaf-mute, than that the common language between him and his teacher should be sufficiently complete so far as the passions, emotions, and sentiments are concerned. We have been told, it will be added, that the teacher must go into particulars ; that individuals must be de- scribed ; cases stated ; circumstances drawn out in de- tail ; facts graphically and minutely delineated ; the biography, history, and parables of the Scriptures, and even its simple doctrines, and practical precepts presented to the mind of the pupil, and that he must be prepared, too, to engage in private and social re- ligious exercises. Is the natural language of signs suf- ficient for these things ? Let us see.
So far as objects, motions, or actions addressed to the senses are concerned, this language, in its un- proved state, is superior in accuracy and force of de- lineation to that in which words spelled on the fingers, spoken, written, or printed, are employed. These words consist of arbitrary marks, or sounds, which, when put together in a certain order, it is agreed shall have a certain meaning. How do children originally acquire the meaning of these words ? Does the shape or sound of the word convey its meaning? Not at all. How, then, is its meaning acquired? By the presence of the object, motion, or action which the word denotes, addressed to some one of the senses of the child, when the word is offered to his notice — or by some occurring event in nature, or in common life ; by some circumstance, some attitude, sign, or gesture,
REV. THOS. IT. GALLAUDET. 193
some expression of countenance, which singly or to- gether, unfold the meaning. Here you must always go back as the starting point; though, when the meanings of a certain number of words are thus ac- quired, they may be employed, doubtless, to recall objects which are not at the time addressed to the senses, or even to describe new ones. Yet the dements of these processes must always be found in things which have once been present to the senses of the child.
Now even if the natural language of signs were as arbitrary as that of words, there is no reason why it should not be as adequate as that is to the purposes under consideration. If a certain sign made with the hands is agreed upon, always to denote a hook, why is not the sign as definite and as available, as the letters boo k, utteiyd from the mouth, spelled on the fingers, or written or printed? But this language is far from being an arbitrary one. In its original features, the deaf-mute copies nature in forming it — the shapes, sizes, properties, uses, motions, in fine, the characteris- tics, addressed to some one of his senses, or sensations, of the external objects around him. And, with regard to his internal thoughts, desires, passions, emotions, or sentiments, he just lets them show themselves out, (in accordance with the mysterious laws of the union of mind and body, and of the action and reaction of the one upon the other, spontaneously and freely), through his eye and countenance, and the attitudes, move- ments, and gestures of his muscular system. As he uses it, it is a picture-like and symbolical language, calling up the objects and ideas which it is designed to denote, in a portraying and suggestive way, which 9
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no oral, written, or printed language can do. It ad- mits of great accuracy and vividness of description, and its simple signs are susceptible of permutations and combinations, which give it a signifleancy, copious- ness, and fluency admirably adapted to the purposes of narrative, and of moral and religious instruction, enlarged and improved as it has been by the efforts of genius and skill, and yet preserving, except in a de- gree scarcely worth being mentioned, its original pic- ture-like and symbolical character.
It is true that the genius of this natural language of signs is most favorable to the presentation of truth by the gradual, inductive process, and admits, scarcely at all, of exhibiting it in its forms of abstraction and generalization. But so much the better for the pur- pose for which it is used, the instruction and moral training of minds that need to have abstract and general truths analyzed, reduced to their simple ele- ments, and thus made clear to their intellect, and ef- fective on their heart.
As the deaf-mute advances in knowledge, and in his acquaintance with written and printed language, it is, doubtless, important to employ terms of abstrac- tion and generalization in his moral training, and to make less use of the natural language of signs ; but even this should be done with care, while this very language, for the most part, furnishes the best means of explaining these terms. Simplicity and perspicuity of conception, even when compelled to express itself in particulars, and in the language of childhood and of unlettered minds, is vastly of more value than the half-formed and vague notions which, clothed in ele- vated and imposing terms, sometimes, indeed, chime
REV. TIIOS. H. GALLAUDET. 195
on the ear, and excite admiration by their pompons swell, but effect nothing in the way of making men wiser and better.
That the natnral language of signs has these char- acteristics and capabilities ; that it is the very language which the deaf-mnte continually needs for the purposes of private and social devotion, and for the reception, certainly in all the earlier stages of his education, of moral and religious truth ; and that it is indispensable in the government and discipline of persons in his condition, the experience of a long course of years in the Asylum at Hartford for their benefit, most abun- dantly testifies.
In conclusion, the writer would urge upon the pa- rents and friends of the deaf and dumb, in view of the remarks which he has made, to encourage the child who suffers such a privation, to make his thoughts and feelings known, as early and as fully as possible, through the medium of natural signs ; and to acquire themselves, with the other members of the family, the use of this language, that the intercommunication be- tween them and the child may be an intelligible and pleasant one. It will certainly be so to the deaf-mute, and will become more and more so to those who are thus learning it from him, as they perceive, from day to day, its power, its beauty, and its practical use. Instead of throwing obstacles in the way of the future progress of his education at the institution to which he may be sent, it will prove, as we have seen, highly auxiliary to this progress; while, whether at home, or at the school, it is an indispensable means of his moral training, and his judicious government and discipline.
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The instructors, too, of the deaf and dumb, if the principles and views that have been advanced are cor- rect, should appreciate the great importance of being masters of the natural language of signs ; of excelling in this language ; of being able to make delineating and descriptive signs with graphical and picture-like accuracy ; of acquiring the power to have the inmost workings of their souls — their various thoughts and feelings, with their fainter and stronger shades of dis- tinctive character — beam out through the eye, counte- nance, attitude, movement, and gesture ; and of doing all this with spirit, grace, and fluency, and for the love of doing it.
The labor is not small, indeed, that must be un- dergone, in order to possess these indispensable quali- fications of an accomplished instructor of the deaf and dumb. To acquire them, the new and inex- perienced teacher must consent, carefully and perse- veringly, to take lesson after lesson of the older teacher who is a proficient in this language ; while the older teacher must have the patience to give these lessons. For, the language of natural signs is not to be learned from books. It cannot be delineated in pictures, or printed on paper. It must be learned, in a great degree, from the living, looking, acting model. Some of the finest models, for such a purpose, are found among the originators of this language, the deaf and dumb. The peculiarities of their mind and char- acter, and the genius of that singularly beautiful and impressive language which nature has taught them, should be the constant study of those whose beneficent calling it is to elevate them in the scale of intellectual, social, and moral existence ; to fit them for usefulness
REV. THOS, H. GALLAUDET. 197
and respectability in this life, and for happiness in that which is to come."
The following article, entitled Reminiscences of Deaf- mute Instruction., is copied from the "Annals," to which I am indebted for the foregoing, and will, I am sure, be read with absorbing interest by all the friends of Mr. Gallandet, into whose hands this sketch of his life and labors may fall:
REMINISCENCES OF DEAF-MUTE INSTRUCTION.
While engaged in the instruction of the deaf and dnmb, there was a pupil in the class which I was teach- ing, an interesting lad of fine talents and an ingennons disposition, who, I noticed, seemed to have a peculiar tact in gathering, from the expressions of my countenance, the workings of my mind. This led me to make some experiments, to see to what extent I could communi- cate ideas to him, without the use of words spelled on the fingers, or of any signs or gestures made by the arms and hands, but simply by expressions of the counte- nance, motions of the head, and attitudes of the body. In doing this, my principal reliance was on the en- deavor to make my face the exponent of my thoughts and feelings. The motions of the head, and the atti- tudes of the body, were the lights and shades of the picture.
He was quite as much interested in these experi- ments as myself; while constant progress Avas made, both by teacher and pupil, in this novel mode of com- munication. Our success, I was well aware, depended very much on the acute and close attention of the lad ; on his power of quick perception ; and especially on
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the ingenuity which he exercised in putting together, in, their proper place and form, the outlines of thought which I gave him, in discovering the law of association which directed my mind, and in supplying those small connecting links of the leading ideas, which I often found it difficult to furnish. In not a few cases, it was something like my giving him a charade, or a riddle, (more clearly and fully expressed, however, than such puzzles usually are,) which he was to solve. His fre- quent and accurate solution of them was surprising.
He • had a finely developed head and person ; a clear, quick, and luminous eye ; and a countenance, which, fresh with the ruddy bloom of youth, spontane- ously and faithfully corresponded, in the ready play of its flexible features, to the movements of his mind and heart. I scarcely failed to know in an instant, from his very look, whether or not he had caught my mean- ing in the progressive stages of the process. If he had, I went on unhesitatingly. If he had not, I went back a little, endeavoring to clear away the mist, till I found that it was dissipated, and that we were both ready to proceed.
Some illustrations of what we attempted to do in this way, may, perhaps, be interesting to the reader.
One day our distinguished and lamented historical painter, Colonel John Trumbull, was in my school-room during the hours of instruction, and on my alluding to the tact which the pupil referred to had of reading my face, he expressed a wish to see it tried. I requested him to select any event in Greek, Koman, English, or American history, of a scenic character, which would make a striking picture on canvas, and said I would endeavor to communicate it to the lad. ' Tell him'
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 199
said lie, ' that Brutus (Lucius Junius) condemned his two sons to death for resisting his authority and violat- ing his orders.'
I folded my arms in front of me, and kept them in that position, to preclude the possibility of making any signs or gestures, or of spelling any words on my fingers, and proceeded, as best I could, by the expres- sions of my countenance, and a few motions of my own head and attitudes of the body, to convey the picture in my own mind to the mind of my pupil.
It ought to be stated that he was already acquainted with the fact, being familiar with the leading events in Roman history. But when I began, he knew not from what portion of history, sacred or profane, ancient or modern, the fact was selected. From this wide range, my delineation on the one hand, and his ingenuity on the other, had to bring it within the division of Roman history, and, still more minutely, to the particular in- dividual transaction designated by Colonel Trumbull. In carrying on the process, I made no use whatever of any arbitrary or conventional look, motion, or attitude, before settled between us, by which to let him under- stand what I wished to communicate, with the excep- tion of a single one, if, indeed, it ought to be consid- ered such.
The usual sign at the time, among teachers and pupils, for a Roman, was portraying an aquiline nose by placing the forefinger, crooked, in front of the nose. As I was prevented from using my finger in this way, and having considerable command over the muscles of my face, I endeavored to give my nose as much of the aquiline form as possible, and succeeded well enough for my purpose.
200 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Everything else that I looked and did was the pure, natural language by which my mind spontaneously endeavored to convey its thoughts and feelings to his mind by the varied expressions of the countenance, some motions of the head, and attitudes of the body.
It would be difficult to furnish the reader anything like a complete analysis of the process which I pursued in making the communication. To be understood, it ought to be witnessed, and accompanied with the requi- site explanations. The outlines of the process, how- ever, I can give. They were the following :
A stretching and stretching gaze eastward, with an undulating motion of the head, as if looking across and beyond the Atlantic ocean, to denote that the event happened, not on the western, but on the eastern continent. This was making a little progress, as it took the subject out of the range of American history.
A turning of the eyes upward and backward, with frequently repeated motions of the head backward, as if looking a great way back in past time, to denote that the event was one of quite ancient date.
The aquiline shape of the nose, already referred to, indicating that a Roman was the person concerned. It was, of course, an old Roman.
Portraying, as well as I could, by my countenance, attitude, and manner, an individual high in authority, and commanding others, as if he expected to be obeyed.
Looking and acting as if I were giving out a spe- cific order to many persons, and threatening punish- ment on those who should resist my authority — even the punishment of death.
Here was a pause in the progress of events, which
RWT. TIIOS. H. QALLAUDET, 201
I denoted by sleeping as it were during the night and awaking the morning, and doing this several times, to signify that several days had elapsed.
Looking with deep interest and surprise, as if at a single person brought and standing before me, with an expression of countenance indicating that he had vio- lated the order which I had given, and that I knew it. Then looking in the same way at another person near him as also guilty. Two offending persons were thus denoted.
Exhibiting serious deliberation — then hesitation, ac- companied with strong conflicting emotions, producing perturbation, as if I knew not how to feel, or what to do.
Looking first at one of the persons before me, and then at the other, and then at both together, as a father would look, indicating his distressful parental feelings under such affecting circumstances.
Composing my feelings, showing that a change was coming over me, and exhibiting towards the imaginary persons before me, the decided look of the inflexible commander who was determined and ready to order them away to execution. Looking and acting as if the tender and forgiving feelings of the father had again got the ascendancy, and as if I were about to relent and pardon them.
These alternating states of mind I portrayed several times, to make my representation the more graphic and impressive.
At length the father yields, and the stern principle of justice, as expressed in my countenance and man- ner, prevails. My look and action denote the passing of the sentence of death on the offenders, and the or- dering them away to execution. 9*
202 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Before I had quite completed the process, I per- ceived, from the expression of his countenance, and a little of impatience in his manner, that the pupil felt satisfied that he was fully in possession of the fact which I was endeavoring to communicate. But for the sake of greater certainty, I detained his attention till I had nothing more to portray. He quickly turned round to his slate, and wrote a correct and complete account of this story of Brutus and his two sons.
Other instances of the same kind, attended with equal success, were, Noah's building the ark, and sav- ing himself and family in it from the deluge : Abra- ham's preparing to offer up his son Isaac in sacrifice, and the interposition of the angel in his behalf: the passage of the Israelites through the Bed Sea, and the destruction of Pharaoh and his host, with similar scenes of a picture-like character furnished in Sacred History.
Washington's passing over the bridge at Trenton under a triumphal arch, between two rows of young females clad in white, who strewed flowers before him, afforded a subject, also, I recollect, at the house of Chief Justice Mellen, in Portland, Maine, which my pupil was quick to receive, and to describe in written language.
At the same time, when before the Legislature of the State of Maine, conducting an exhibition of deaf- mute instruction and its results, I endeavored by the process already described, to convey to the mind of ray pupil a fact with which, I think, he had not before been acquainted, that I had seen the coach in which Napoleon fled, from the battle of Waterloo, and had sat in the very seat which he then occupied. I suc- ceeded.
REV. THOS. II GALLAUDKT. 203
On one occasion a Governor and Ex-Governor of the State of Connecticut were in my school - room. After some experiments on the mode of communica- tion, already described, between myself and my pupil, the Governor pleasantly asked me if I thought I could tell the lad, in the same way, that the Ex-Governor was an old bachelor. 'With great ease,' I replied, and it was soon done, the lad writing to that effect on his slate.
'Now/ says the Ex-Governor, 'tell him that the Governor is a married man, and has two children.' This, also, was readily accomplished. The process in each case was very simple. In the first I had only to look at an imaginary being standing by my side, with the expression of interested conjugal affection, then at the Ex- Governor with motions of the head denoting negation, accompanied with an expression of counte- nance manifesting the pity I felt for him in his lonely condition.
In the case of the Governor, after a similar express- ion of conjugal affection, I looked at him with motions of the head expressing affirmation, and, then, putting myself, as it were, in his place, I directed my gaze, as if towards a little being before me, regarding it with a vivid, delighted look of paternal love. I looked, in the same way, at another imaginary child near the first one, and then resumed my usual air and manner. This was sufficient to secure the desired result.
There was another use which I found it practicable to make of the mere expressions of the countenance, in conveying not only ideas but words to the mind of my pupil.
On our journey to Maine, we sat, one day, directly
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facing each other in the stage-coach. I proposed to him that we should invent an alphabet of expressions of the countenance, and see if we could not, in a short time, become so familiar with it, as to make it subservient to the spelling of words quite as surely and quickly as could be done by the finger alphabet. We began, and settled it as follows :
The simple expression of awe, was to denote the let- ter a; of boldness, b ; of curiosity, c; of despair, d; of eagerness, e ; of fear, /; of gladness, g ; and so on. We made various trials of this new alphabet of the looks, and found it succeed. It is easy to see, that if I expressed by my countenance distinctly, and with slight intervals between the expressions, the emotions of despair, eagerness, awe, and fear, the letters d, e, a, andy^ would be denoted, and, of course, the word deaf, communicated. And so might any other word, by forming the proper expressions. Simple as this pro- cess is, it would still appear very surprising to a per- son ignorant of it, after being requested to furnish any word, no matter how difficult or abstruse its meaning, to see it immediately looked by the teacher into the mind of the pupil, and the latter writing it down cor- rectly on his slate.
These, and other experiments of a similar kind, made by a teacher of the deaf and dumb and his pu- pils, may, perhaps, seem to be matters of mere amuse- ment, and not of any practical use.
But amusement has its uses in all schools, and espe- cially if the teacher can, at suitable times, take part in them with his pupils. Besides, in the processes of conveying the thoughts and feelings of one mind to another, which I have been describing, no small share
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 205
of fixed and clear attention ; of the power of quick perception, analysis, inference, and combination ; and of ingenuity and skill on the part of the pupil, and, on that of the teacher, of accurate and vivid conception ; of true and deep feeling ; of faithful and spirited delin- eation ; and, I may add, of naturalness and grace in his portraitures, is, or ought to be, called into exercise.
He thus, also, has additional opportunities of study- ing the minds of his pupils, and they, of becoming better acquainted with his own, and the development of it through his countenance, air, and manner. All this is of great practical utility, even if obtained in the way of amusement; perhaps, even the more so on that account.
The truth is, the cultivation and constant use of the expressions of the countenance as the natural and in- telligible exponents of the workings of the mind and heart, are often too much neglected by the instructors of the deaf and dumb. Let them adopt what other modes they may of teaching the meaning of words, of conveying ideas, and of communicating useful knowl- edge to their pupils, there are defects and deficiencies in these modes, especially when the subject is one of an elevated or obscure kind, and of an intellectual, moral, or religious import, which can only be remedied and supplied by the language of the human face divine, for which the Author of our being has made such am- ple provision in the elaborate and wonderful machinery of nerves and muscles adapted to physiognomic ex- pression.
The same language of expression ought to be em- ployed to a vastly greater extent than it is, by those who teach children and youth that are in possession
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of all their faculties, and especially for the purpose of acquiring and exercising a salutary influence over them. The heart which is full of energetic rectitude and good- ness, mingled with love and self-denying benevolence, has a wonderful ascendancy over the hearts of others, when it beams forth clearly and benignantly through the eye and the whole countenance. Let this become a habit, and the moral power accompanying it is in- calculable. Fathers and mothers should ponder this truth, and come practically under its influence in the nurture of their children."
TEACHING DEAF MUTES ARTICULATION.
With regard to the practicability of doing this with- out too great a sacrifice of time, and with very little corresponding advantage at the best, Mr. Gallaudet was very doubtful from the first. Though he found it quite popular in the foreign schools, still what he witnessed and learned of its success did not prevail with him when he returned, to recommend it as a branch of deaf-mute instruction in the Hartford Asy- lum. He says, in one of his annual reports —
" Articulation is not taught. It would require more time than the present occasion furnishes, to state the reasons which have induced the Principal of the Asy- lum and his associates not to waste their labor and that of their pupils upon this comparatively useless branch of the education of the deaf and dumb. In no case is it the source of any original knowledge to the mind of the pupil. In few cases does it succeed so as to answer any valuable end. But its real value may well be estimated from the opinions of one of the most
REV. TH03. II. GALLAUBET. 207
distinguished philosophers of the age, who for many years resided in Edinburgh, where Mr. Braidwood, perhaps the most accomplished teacher of articulation to the deaf and dumb which the world ever saw, lived and kept his school. The mere mention of the name of Dugald Stewart, is sufficient to give force to any sentiments which so profound an observer of the human mind may have expressed on this interesting subject. In his account of James Mitchell, a boy born blind and deaf, published in the transactions of the Koyal Society of Edinburgh, part first of vol. vii, page 39, he says — ' But Sicard's aim was of a different, and of a higher nature; not to astonish the vulgar by the sudden conversion of a dumb child into a speaking automaton ; but, by affording scope to those means which nature herself has provided for the gradual evo- lution of our intellectual powers, to convert his pupil into a rational and moral being.' And again, page 46, ' I have been led to insist, at some length, on the phil- osophical merits of Sicard's plan of instruction for the dumb, not only because his fundamental principles admit of an obvious application {mutatis mutandis) to the case of Mitchell, but because his book does not seem to have attracted so much notice in this country as might have been expected, among those who have devoted themselves to the same profession. Of this no stronger proof can be produced, than the stress which has been laid, by most of our teachers, on the power of articulation, which can rarely, if ever; repay to a person born deaf, the time and pains necessary for the acquisition. This error was, no doubt, owing, in the first instance, to a very natural, though very gross mistake, which confounds the gift of speech with
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the gift of reason ; but I believe it has been prolonged and confirmed in England, not a little, by the common union of this branch of trade with the more lucrative one, of professing to cure organical impediments. To teach the dumb to speak, besides, (although, in fact, entitled to rank only a little higher than the art of training starlings and parrots,) will always appear to the multitude a far more wonderful feat of ingenuity, than to unfold silently the latent capacities of the un- derstanding; an effect which is not, like the other, palpable to sense, and of which but a few are able either to ascertain the existence, or to appreciate the value. It is not surprising, therefore, that even those teachers who are perfectly aware of the truth of what I have now stated, should persevere in the difficult, but comparatively useless attempt, of imparting to their pupils that species of accomplishment which is to fur- nish the only scale upon which the success of their labors is ever likely to be measured by the public'
"Abandoning, then, the comparatively useless at- tempt to teach their pupils articulation, the instructors in the Asylum have labored rather to convey import- ant intellectual and religious knowledge to their minds. With what success these labors have been crowned can be best appreciated by those who have had an opportunity of witnessing the very satisfactory progress of the pupils, by the inspection of their own original composition, and from the testimony of their parents and friends, who, it is confidently believed, have, in all cases, expressed the most unqualified ap- probation of the attainments which they have made in a comparatively short space of time."
The expediency of teaching articulation in the deaf-
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 209
mute schools of this country, however, was freely dis- cussed, some being in favor of it ; but the majority of those who were entitled to offer an opinion were against it, except in some few cases, hereafter to be mentioned.
The discussion, which I believe had nearly ceased, was revived, by a statement in the report of the Hon. Horace Mann, Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, who had been sent abroad to visit the gymnasian schools in Prussia, and kindred public in- stitutions in other foreign states, with the view of graft- ing such improvements upon the system of popular education in Massachusetts, as might, in the judgment of the Board, help to perfect it. In that report, Mr. Mann took occasion to speak of the deaf-mute asylums which he visited, as standing quite above ours in this country, and dwelt particularly upon the success with which articulation was taught in the institutions of Great Britain, Holland, Germany, and France.
The letter which it appears Mr. Mann wrote to Mr. Gallaudet, soon after his return, I have not been able to find, but large extracts from Mr. Gallaudet's answer are here inserted.
T. H. Gallaudet to Hon. Horace Mann.
" Hartford, May 13th, 1844. " Hon. Horace Manx.
" My Dear Sir, — I should have replied before this to your late very kind letter, but much bodily indis- position, and a pressure of numerous duties have prevented.
I am free to say that I deeply regret the very strong language which you use in your report, so in-
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terestmg and admirable in most of its features, when you say that the schools for the deaf and dumb in Prussia, Saxony, and Holland, seem to you decidedly superior to anything in this country ; because, in order to say this, as I think, understandingly, you ought to be thoroughly acquainted with the system of discipline and instruction pursued in our Asylum, and other American institutions, in its details and practical re- sults; for how else can a fair comparison be made?
The teaching of the deaf-mutes to articulate and to understand what is said to them, is but one part of their education.
The development of the intellectual and moral faculties of deaf mutes; their intellectual and moral training; their government, by moral influence; the imparting to them moral, religious, and other knowledge; their participating, understandingly, in the social and public devotional exercises of the Insti- tution ; the furnishing of their minds with the ideas, the facts, and that amount of knowledge, which are ne- cessary to prepare them to understand a vast number of the words which must be taught them ; their be- coming acquainted Avith our social and civil institu- tions ; with arithmetic, grammar, geography, and his- tory ; with the history, simple doctrines, and the pre- cepts of the Bible ; with their duties to God, to their fellow-men, and themselves; and their acquiring a trade, or some means of gaining a livelihood; and especially their being taught to write the English language correctly, and to read boohs intelligently, (one of the highest solaces and means of constantly pro- gressive self-culture, which deaf-mutes can enjoy,) all these are essential parts of their education.
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 211
They may have them without being able to articu- late, and understand what is said to them, or some of them may be able to do the latter, and yet be deficient in the former.
In how many cases the two can be combined, and with what degree of success, is a point that needs the most careful examination.
The complete education of deaf-mutes, I am decided in saying, cannot be successfully carried on, especially during the early stages of their instruction, without the use of that very distinct, intelligible, copious, and beautiful language of natural signs, which nature has prompted them in their separate and insulated state, originally to invent, in its more simple elements, and which science and art have advanced to a high degree of perfection. Without this language of natural signs, the teacher can have, at first, no ready and adequate means of free communication with his pupils, (by this language, he has this free communication long, long before he can have it by words) ; he cannot get hold of their peculiarities of mind; cannot give them in- structive illustrations, by practical examples, of the full meaning of very many words; cannot do much to expand their opening faculties ; and cannot under- stand their difficulties, and the questions they may wish to propose to him, respecting these difficulties ; a most essential part of the proper instruction of any child. How far the essential parts of a complete education, which I have above specified, must be retarded, sacri- ficed, or neglected, in the five, or even six years allowed by the Legislatures of the States, for the actual residence of the deaf and dumb at our public institutions, in order to go through with the long, laborious, and to them,
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certainly, in many cases, as experience lias abundantly shown, very tedious and irksome process of learning to articulate, and to understand what is said to them ; how far this process is successful, to the extent of which you so unhesitatingly speak, when as we know the whole subject has, more than once, undergone the severest scrutiny in Europe, by the most sagacious in- dividuals, (philosophers, such as Degeraldo, and Dugald Stewart,* and accomplished teachers of the deaf and dumb among the number,) who have come to very differ- ent results, with regard to the facts in the case, from yours; and how far the English tongue may, as you suggest, present intrinsic difhcuties in the matter — these are questions, when we come to the fair investigation of this complicated subject, and wish to balance all the ad- vantages and disadvantages, to answer which demands much practical experience in the instruction of deaf- mutes, and a most thorough and critical investigation of the whole ground covered.
If you come to Hartford, do let me know it, that I may once more have the pleasure of enjoying your so- ciety, and talking over with you, both deaf-mute and other matters of common interest.
Yours truly,
T. H. GALLATJDET."
Soon after this, the Principal, Mr. Weld, who had twenty-six years' experience in the instruction of deaf- mutes, was sent out to visit the foreign asylums, as was also the Eev. Mr. Day, an experienced teacher,
* Dugald Stewart, in his writings, who had the school of Braid- wood, (one of the most accomplished teachers of articulation to deaf-mutes that ever lived,) in Edinburgh, under his familiar in- spection, goes strong against articulation.
REV. THOS. II. GALLATOET. 213
with instructions to report. They did so, and their reports did not, it is believed, change the views which Mr. Gallaudet had before entertained, with regard to teaching articulation in our American schools.
He never denied, but that with great pains-taking, some of the deaf and dumb might be taught to speak, though he maintained that it must be very indiffer- ently at the best. In point of fact, articulation has, from the beginning, been taught to a very limited ex- tent, and is still taught in the American asylums. There are three classes of deaf mutes ; those who were born such ; those who have lost their hearing by some disease, in very early childhood ; and those who cannot speak, but are not perfectly deaf. It is admitted, that the two latter of these unfortunate classes, may be taught to speak, more or less perfectly, according to the time and degree of the existing infirmity. Nor can it be absolutely affirmed that no congenital deaf- mute, can be taught articulation of any kind, for some have been. But what does it amount to in such cases? How rude, how imperfect, how grating, how unhu- man, the sound from such lips ! It does not, it can- not, approach to anything like distinct articulation, save in the simplest words of our language, if at all. And after all that can be done, what parent is there, who would think of carrying on even a short conver- sation with his or her child, in peril of such unearthly shrieks and explosions? But I may not linger here. Mr. Gallaudet's deliberate judgment, made up on this point, and all other questions touching deaf-mute in- struction, after such long experience, and deep reflec- tion, will, I nothing doubt, stand the test of the most enlightened scrutiny.
PART SECOND.
EMBRACING THE PERIOD SPECIALLY DEVOTED TO
LITERARY LABORS IX THE CAUSE OF
POPULAR EDUCATION.
cause c
PART SECOND.
CHAPTEE I.
From 1815, when Mr. Gallaudet embarked in the new enterprise, and went abroad to qualify himself for it, a memoir of his life naturally embraces three distinct periods or stages ; his connection with the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb ; his labors in the cause of popular education, and his connection with the Connecticut Retreat for the Insane.
The first of these periods extends, as we have seen, from 1815 to 1830 ; and, if he had done nothing more for his race than what he accomplished in those fifteen years, he would have stood very high among the benefactors of his age. In reading his biography, the deaf and the dumb of many generations will succes- sively rise up and call him blessed.
But it was not in his nature to rest, so long as God gave him strength to work, and he could find any thing else to do. Some men, when they retire from the successful prosecution of any arduous enterprise, feel as if they had done enough, and were entitled to 10 - P"]
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withdraw and repose upon their laurels, even in the meridian of life. To say nothing of the sin of thus burying their talents, they commit one of the greatest mistakes into which they could fall. They cut them- selves off from all the sweet satisfactions of doing good, and not seldom exchange the health which active duties had earned and preserved, for some of the thousand morbid retributions that want of occu- pation engenders and nourishes. No wonder if they " should not live out half their days."
With this class, Mr. Gallaudet had no fellowship nor sympathy. He was of such an active tempera- ment, that he could not have gone from the laborious routine of the Asylum into mere negative retirement if he might ; and his conscience would not have al- lowed him to do it if he could. The question with him, when he found he must give up his favorite em- ployment of teaching deaf mutes, was, " What can I do next? Though I can't safely labor any longer here, I am still able to do something ; and ' Lord, what wilt thou have me do ? ' " It appears, from his correspondence, and still more from his private papers, that his waning health warned him he must retire, a considerable time before he was willing to entertain the thought. Indeed, he very early felt that he should not be able to bear the burden long; but God renewed his strength from time to time, till his work in that field was done, and he was not broken down.
Whether Mr. Gallaudet had distinctly marked out for himself any particular course of life and labor, when he left the Asylum, does not appear. He had, indeed, cherished the hope that he should, sooner or
REV. TITOS. H. GALLAUDET. 219
later, find time to write school books in the elementary- branches of popular education, and for the moral and religious instruction of the young. "What else he should do, he seems not to have decided. But, in the mean time, others who highly appreciated his talents, and had heard of his contemplated retirement from the field which he had cultivated with such remark- able success, were contriving how to allure him into their favorite enclosures, as will appear from the applications which he received from almost every quarter.
It is believed, that the services of no man in this country were ever more earnestly sought for, in so many departments of philanthropic labor. The im- pression was almost universal, as far as he was known, (and where was he not known ?) not only that he was eminently qualified to take charge of any benevolent institution in the land, or for any educational service to which he might be called, but that he was the first man to be thought of, for places of the highest respon- sibility. This unmistakably appears in the volu- minous correspondence which lies before me, and a part of which deserves a prominent place in the present volume.
To begin with the American Colonization So- ciety. Mr. Gallaudet had been a warm friend and advocate of this society from the first. He was in intimate correspondence with the Eev. E. E. Gurley, one of the most active and devoted friends of that great, if not the greatest benevolent and Christian en- terprise of the nineteenth century. In a letter just received from Mr. Gurley, dated Washington, June 2d, 1857, he says :
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" The society had perhaps never a more prudent, wise, sagacious and determined friend than Mr. Gral- laudet. Profoundly acquainted with human nature ; very conciliating but very firm ; ready always to con- cede in things immaterial, but resolute of purpose in things essential. Among the letters I send you are two, addressed to Eahhaman, the Moorish prince, on the subject of religion. May a divine blessing rest upon your Christian labors, in illustrating the life of one of the wisest and best of men."
Soon after Mr. Gallaudet left the Asylum, he was appointed permanent agent of the Colonization Society for New England, and earnestly urged to engage in the service, on a salary of $1500 and expenses.
" The proposition," says the Secretary, communi- cating the appointment, " is for yourself. Our mana- gers are unwilling to extend it to another, beyond $1000 and expenses. I should rejoice to see you con- nected with our cause ; and cannot doubt, that were you to accept the agency, such a connection would be permanent. But I have no disposition to urge this, and you can best judge in relation to your duty and your interest."
Mr. Gallaudet took the subject into deliberate and prayerful consideration, as he did all such applications for responsible services, from whatever quarter they might come. While he was deliberating, the managers of the New York Colonization Society directed their Secretary to forward to him the following preamble and resolutions :
" Whereas, This Board is informed, by a letter from the Rev. Mr. Gurley, Secretary of the American Colo- nization Society, that the Rev. Mr. Gallaudet, of Hart-
REV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 221
ford, Conn., has been appointed their permanent agent for this and the New England States, requesting the influence of this Board with Mr. Gallaudet to induce him to accept the appointment,
11 Resolved, That this Board is fully convinced that the acquisition of the talents and efforts of Mr. Gal- laudet, as such agent, will promote, in an eminent ree, the great enterprise of Colonization , which we regard with such deep concern to this country and to Africa.
" Further resolved^ That Mr. Gallaudefs acceptance of this appointment will afford great and peculiar satisfaction to this Board/'
Though he declined the appointment, he retained a lively interest in the cause to the day of his death. It may be added, as another proof of this interest, that for several years he was Secretary of the Connecticut Colonization Society, and one of its most zealous and efficient members.
The following letter shows, still further, how anxious the friends of colonization were to secure his services.
" Philadelphia, 1st July, 1833. ■ Rev. Thomas H. Gallaudet :
"Dear Sir, — TVe are directed, under an appointment from the Board of Managers of the Pennsylvania Colo- nization Society, to correspond with you, with a view to ascertain whether you would be willing to accept an appointment under our Board, as an agent for the State, to promote the object of the American Coloniza- tion Society, by raising funds, diffusing information, organizing local societies or associations in counties or towns, and such other measures as, in your judgment
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and that of the Board, would most effectually wake up the community to this great and good work. " From yours most respectfully,
" GERARD RALSTON, and others."
So much pleased was Mr. Gurley with one of Mr. Gallaudet's annual reports, as Secretary of the Con- necticut Society, that he wrote him the following letter :
" Office of the Colonization Society, )
"Washington, June 6th, 1830. j"
uKev. and Dear Sir, — I am delighted with your report.* It is admirably drawn up, and must exert a powerful influence. May I beg you to favor me with three or four copies ?
" Allow me to suggest, that great good would prob- ably result from giving it a wide circulation among the several State societies and other auxiliaries. I hope you have printed a large edition.
"I am most happy to communicate the following resolution, which was adopted unanimously by our Board at their last meeting :
" L Resolved, That the Rev. Thomas H. Gallaudet be invited to accept of an agency for the society, for a few months, in New England, and that he be particu- larly requested to visit Boston, and endeavor to es- tablish, in that city, a State society, and to urge the objects of the memorial of the society, now before the Legislature of that State.'
" I hope you will consent to lend us, for a short time at least, the aid of your influence and talents in
* Alluding to one not long before presented by Mr. Gallaudet at the annual meeting of the Connecticut Colonization Society.
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 223
arousing the good feelings of New England to activity and energy, in behalf of suffering and neglected Africa. You have done much by your pen ; you can do much more by your intercourse with society, and the persuasive powers of your eloquence.
u Several members of the Legislature have promised their support. You will find Mr. Everett a decided friend to our cause, and I have no doubt that Mr. Webster will give his countenance to the scheme. Mr. Charles Tappan, our local agent at Boston, has shown a very deep and friendly interest. The present is a very favorable time for bringing the subject before the citizens of Boston, and of Massachusetts. I hope, therefore, you will not deny us your kind assistance.
" Very respectfully and affectiona;
"R EL GURLEY."
He, in view of other pressing applications for public services, Mr. Gallaudet felt it his duty to de- cline connecting himself with the colonization cause, as above solicited, he had before been led to inquire whether some school or schools could not be es: lished in this country tor the education of colored -ionaries and teachers for Africa. With this view, he addressed a letter to Dr. Milnor, and received the following answer :
Dr. Milnor to Mr. Gallaudet.
- Xew York. Feb. 21. 1887.
,; Rev. axd Dear Sir, — I should have returned an
earlier answer to your favor of January, if I had been
able to say any thing of importance in relation to the
interesting subject. Similar communications have been
224 LIFE AND LABORS OF
received by some of the bishops of our church, and others ; and the society of our church for ihe promo- tion of domestic and foreign missions have taken the matter under consideration, and will no doubt make every inquiry in their power. I have, however, very little hope of many suitable missionaries being pro- cured, except in the way you have suggested, and even that will be attended with great difficulty, both in the procurance of suitable characters, and providing them with the means of acquiring a competent edu- cation. There is an institution in an incipient state, whose location is designed to be in the vicinity of Newark, K. J. ; but its funds at present consist only of the moneys bequeathed by General Kosciusco for such an object, and a great lassitude seems to me to obtain, in getting it into operation. Much time must necessarily elapse, before efficient aid in the supply of colored missionaries from this country can possibly be rendered. To give a competent education to pious persons of this description, who have spent their ear- lier years in slavery and ignorance, will very rarely be practicable. It has seemed to me indispensable to begin with a school of children, and trust to the provi- dence and grace of God for their obtaining, along with the benefits of secular learning, the spiritual qualifica- tions requisite in the missionaries of the cross.
" I sincerely hope that, in this age of Christian enterprise, this very important means of extending to injured Africa the benefits of Christianity, will not be lost sight of. But, in the present state of things, it is neither practicable for me to suggest to you any way in which you can further it, nor to do any thing for its prosecution myself, except to present it, as
REV. TIIOS. H. GALLAUDET. 225
opportunity offers, in all its interesting bearings, to other minds, and thus assist in gradually exciting a spirit that may lead to determinate measures in its favor.
" I am, with great respect, Rev. and dear sir, " Your ob. s?t and br. in C. » Key. T. H. Gallaudet." " JAMES MILXOR.
Mr. Gallaudet also wrote a letter to Mr. Gerrit Smith, touching the same matter, and his reply is here inserted :
Hon. Gerrit Smith to Mr. Gallaudet. ;- Peterboro', Madison Co., X. Y., April 14,1827. " Dear Sie, — I received your letter with a great deal of pleasure, and especially so, because it presents to me, in yourself and Mr. Wright, a couple of valu- able and earnest friends to the African cause — a cause so neglected, that the few who come up to its help are hailed with peculiar satisfaction. It was with much regret that I saw in the ' Freedonr s Journal ' the arti- cle you, no doubt, refer to, respecting my purposes of good to this unhappy portion of the human family. The reply which I immediately sent to the editors of that paper will, I trust, go far towards correcting the false impressions on this subject. If that reply meets your eye, it will show you that I am thinking a little about my duty in this matter, and that I am hoping to begin to do it in a year or two, should my life be spared so long.
'• I have, for a year, thought of establishing a Semi- nary in this place, in which to receive Africans of from fifteen to thirty years of age, and to qualify
10*
226 LIFE AND LABORS OF
them for missionaries to Africa. Such being the single object of the proposed school, none, of course, would be admitted into it but such as were evidently pious. I have not intended to carry them through such a course of instruction as would render them polite scholars and thorough theologians. Considering the character of the people with whom they would have to do, such an education does not seem to be necessary. A far less expensive one, such as I propose, would qualify the individual, perhaps, nearly as well for his duties, and, at the same time, enable me to double or treble the number of my school. A common English education, and a careful instruction in the fundamental truths of our holy religion, (say one year under a theological teacher,) are the extent of the education I purpose to give.
" This is something of my plan of beneficence to Africa. Of my little ability to do good to my fellow- creatures, I have long thought Africa was entitled to the largest share, and in no way can I serve her to any account, unless it be in some such way as I pro- pose. The situation of my property forbids, my help- ing her in any other way. I have no money, but a number of large and valuable farms around me. The grain of these farms will feed my school, and from the sheep that run upon them I can clothe it ; besides, I should get from each of my scholars two or three months' labor in the year on my farms. Landed property here is scarcely convertible into money at any price.
" There are many inviting features in your plan of taking African boys without reference to their char- acter for piety. I think, however, of some objections
J
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 227
to it. My correspondence on the subject has satisfied me that there are many more pious blacks in our coun- try than it is generally supposed there are. I think I could get, without much difficulty, fifty or one hun- dred of that description into such a school as I propose. I should be very loth to undertake the education of as many irreligious blacks. Aside from religion, the motives in our country for the black man to be- come a worthy person are not sufficiently powerful. Our institutions, political and social, the feelings and habits allied to them — a thousand causes, in short, conspire to make the black man worthless, by a power that is seldom successfully resisted where there is not grace in the heart. True, the prospect of being speedily transplanted in Africa, there to be independent and respected, would prove, no doubt, in the case you mention, no inconsiderable stimulant to the young African's ambition, and the improvement of his char- acter. I am, very respectfully, your friend,
" GERRIT SMITH, " Mr. Gallaupet."
The following extract of a letter from the Eev. Ed- ward Bickersteth, Secretary of the Church Missionary Society, is here inserted, as showing that Mr. Gallaudet was thus early known in England as a man to be relied upon for such information as the society wanted :
■ Church Missionary House, 'London, Oct. 25th, 1826. 11 My Dear Sir, — The committee of the Church Missionary Society, having lost many valuable la- borers in Africa, have turned their attention to a supply of teachers better fitted than Europeans to
228 LIFE AND LABORS OF
encounter the insalubrity of its climate. They have been strongly recommended to endeavor to procure persons of color for this service, and have been led to suppose that there may be many such in America, who have the requisite piety, talent and knowledge to fit them for such an office.
" Their duty would be the religious instruction of the liberated Africans congregated in Sierra Leone from all parts of Africa.
" We shall be much obliged if you will inform us whether there be, in your knowledge, any persons of this description who would be willing to devote them- selves wholly to labor in Africa to diffuse the Gospel.
" It might not, probably, be difficult for such per- sons to obtain ordination from the bishops of the sister church in America before they left there.
" Such persons should pledge themselves to submit to the directions of the society, as to the stations in which they may labor, and their general conduct.
u The remuneration for their services would be suf- ficient for their comfortable support ; but on this point, and any other connected with the design, we shall be truly glad to have your free and full sentiments. 1 ' I am, dear sir, faithfully yours,
"ED WD BICKEKSTETH, Sec. C. M. S. " Eev. T. H. Gallaudet, &c."
Some who read this memoir will remember the account, which was published in the African Eeposi- tory, of a slave who was brought to Natchez, and sold to Colonel Thomas Foster of that place ; and who, after remaining in bondage nearly forty years, was met and recognized by Dr. Cox, of the United States Navy, as.
KEY. TTIOS. H. GALLAUDET. 229
the Moorisli prince Abduhl Rahhamau, whom he had known forty years before in Tumbo, and by whom he had been treated with great kindness when he was rich in that place. Dr. Cox, in the fullness of his grati- tude, went to Colonel Foster, and offered him a thous- and dollars if he would liberate the prince. But he was so valuable a slave, and so serviceable was the good influence which he exercised over all the slaves on his plantation, that Colonel Foster could not consent to part with him. Some years after Dr. Cox's death, the case being reported to the United States govern- ment, and satisfactory evidence being presented of the truth of the prince's statements and history, an agent was sent to Natchez to procure his freedom. He was at once manumitted by Colonel Foster, without any compensation.
The prince was then sixty-six years old, having been a slave forty years. He had a wife, five sons, and eight grandchildren, all in bondage. His wife was soon bought and set free, by benevolent indi- viduals in Natchez and neighborhood. The object was to send them back to their own country; but they could not bear to go and leave their children and grandchildren behind. A large sum was required for their ransome, and how was it to be obtained ? In the number of the Repository for October, 1828, I find the following notice of the agency by which the pur- chase money was raised :
" We have before mentioned the prince's desire to obtain the redemption of his entire family, and that he had gone to the northern cities to solicit aid. We rejoice to find, that the Rev. Mr. Gallaudet, Principal
230 LIFE AND LABORS OF
of the Asylum of the deaf and dumb, at Hartford, and so well known to the public for his truly Christian and charitable enterprise, has generously devoted himself for two or three weeks past, to this unfortunate stranger ; examined and made himself familiar with his history ; brought the facts of it before the public in New England, and finally visited New York, where he made a powerful appeal in the Masonic Hall, to the generous and wealthy of that city."
The address was published, and greatly aided in raising the sum required. I cannot refrain from quoting a part of the closing paragraph from that eloquent appeal. It was thought worthy of the man and of the sacred cause of humanity and religion.
" The prince was born and spent his early youth in Timbuctoo, and recollects that no one was disturbed for religious opinions, and that the Alcoran has given the people a curiosity to see the Bible. During all his trials, the prince has not forgotten his Arabic, but reads it fluently and writes it with neatness. The finger of God seems to point to great results arising from his return. His life appears like a romance, and would be incredible if the evidence were not undeniable. We see in these events, that God's ways are not as our ways, nor his thoughts as our thoughts. We see why the prince was not to return with his Moorish dis- position and his Moorish sword ; that providence con- tinued him here, till grace had softened his heart. He will now return a messenger of peace. Blessed be God, that we are permitted the honor of cooper- ating with him. Methinks I see him, like a patriarch crossing the Atlantic, over which he was taken forty years since, with his flock around him, and happy
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 231
in doing good. I think I see benighted Africa taking her stand among the nations of the earth. I think I see Egypt, as heretofore, pouring a flood of light into Greece, and Carthage arising in former glory.
"I think I see Africa, one hand pointing to the tablet of eternal justice, making even us Americans tremble, while the words are pronounced, ' Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord ;' and with the other pointing to the golden rule of the Gospel."
Soon after their emancipation, the prince and his family emigrated to Liberia, where he died in a short time, and where Mr. Gurley visited his widow not long after his death. She handed him an old pocket book, in which he found the following letter from Mr. Gallaudet, under date of May 15th, 1828.
Letter to Abduhl Rahhaman, the Moorish Prince. " Hartford, May 15th, 1828.
" My Venerable Friend, — I have read with deep interest the late accounts respecting you, and how, with the blessing of God, and by the liberality of kind friends, yourself and wife have obtained freedom, and are soon to return to your native land.
" I saw in this city, a few days since, the Rev. Jonas King, who has lately been a Christian missionary in Palestine. He told me, that when he should arrive in New York, from which place he expects soon to embark for Greece, he would send you an Arabic Bible. I hope it will reach you in safety.
" I also send you, (and of which I beg your ac- ceptance, as a small token of my esteem and friend- ship), a small book in Arabic, which was sent to me a few years ago, by a friend in England, the Rev.
282 LIFE AND LABOES OF
Josiah Pratt, secretary at that time, of the Church Missionary Society, which has done so much to en- lighten the Africans in their native country.
" Eemember, my venerable friend, that it is the religion of Jesus Christ alone, which leads men to do good to the souls of their fellow men. What other religion does this ? I know there are those who call themselves Christians, (and it easy for men to call themselves by any name,) and yet act directly contrary to the commands of Jesus Christ. Do not judge the religion of Jesus Christ by such men.
"Kead attentively, I beseech you, my venerable friend, the New Testament. You will see in the character of Jesus Christ, and in all his precepts, a religion which, if cherished in the heart and practiced in the life, would make men good and happy both in this and in the future world.
"Perhaps you have met a few persons who are Christians in heart, and who imitate the example of Jesus Christ. What do you think of them ? What do you think of that religion wrhich has removed darkness from their minds, and made their hearts love God and love their fellow men ? Look at such men. Are you not glad to have them for your friends? They are the ones who wish not only to do you good in this wrorld, but to prepare you after death, (which, ah, my venerable friend, cannot be far distant frcm you and your dear wife,) to be happy for ever in Heaven.
"Was Jesus Christ, who set such an example and taught such religion, a bad man, an impostor ? You say, perhaps he was a good man. Well, if he was a good man, he could not have spoken falsehoods, he
REV. THOS. II. GALEA UDET. 233
must always have told the truth. But, if he told the truth, his religion must be the true one, and all other religions which do not agree with it must be false. He said he was the only Savior, and that only by repentance towards God for all our sins, and by faith in him as our only Savior, we can be saved If this is not true, what a wicked person, what an impostor, Jesus Christ must have been ! The Arabic book which I send you, my venerable friend, shows very clearly the truth of the Christian religion.
" It was first written by Hugo Grotius, a very wise and learned man, who lived in the United Nether- lands. It was translated into Arabic, by Professor McBride, a very learned man, who lives in Oxford, in England.
" I beg you to read it carefully. I beg you to read the Arabic Bible carefully, which I hope you will receive from my friend Mr. King. I beg you at the same time, to pray Almighty God, that he would guide you by his wisdom into the knowledge of the true religion ; for, my venerable friend, how impor- tant it is, that we should find and embrace the true religion ! You, whose soul will so soon be in eternity.
11 May the Holy Spirit lead you in the way of truth, of safety, and of peace. Is not Jesus Christ just such a Savior, just such a teacher, just such a guide, just such a protector, just such a friend as you and I need in a world like this, so full of disappointments, of sorrow, and of sin ? Shall we not need him when we die, and when our souls appear at the judgment seat at the last day ?
" I heard, yesterday, that some family near this city had a long letter in Arabic, which you wrote
234 LIFE AND LAEOES OF
when you first came to this country, in Charleston, S. C. I rode seven miles last evening, to try to find this letter. I did not succeed; but I heard something about it, and I will try to procure it and send it to you. Please to write me as soon as you receive this letter, and tell me how soon you expect to embark, and to what place I shall direct another letter to you. Give kind regards to your wife and children, all of whom, as well as yourself, I commend to the pro- tection and blessing of Almighty God, beseeching him for the sake of Jesus Christ, to guide you all, after the trials and changes of this short and uncertain life, to the mansions of eternal rest. I am, my vener- able friend, your friend in truth,
" THO]tfAS H. GALLAUDET."
This is a very interesting letter in itself, and es- pecially so, as showing that while Mr. Gallaudet was one of the most active and successful agents in pro- curing the manumission of the prince's family, he was tenderly anxious for his spiritual and eternal well-being. He could not be satisfied till he had done what in him lay, to make his venerable friend free indeed.
It is hardly necessary to add, that Mr. Gallaudet retained a lively interest in the prosperity of the colonization cause as long as he lived. He never enlisted in any cause till he had investigated its claims, and when once he had become satisfied that it was a cause which needed and deserved his support, he was not the man to say, "I pray thee, have me ex- cused." He did not stop to ask, " Is it popular? Is it certain to succeed ? " Enough for him, that it was
REV. TnOS. H. GALLAUDET. 235
a good cause, and in his judgment ought to succeed; and the fewer friends it had in its infancy, or its reverses, the more tenaciously would he cling to it. He believed that the American Colonization Society promised more for the ultimate extinction of the slave trade, by the planting of free colonies of colored emigrants from the United States, on the coast of Africa, for bettering the condition of the emigrants and their posterity throughout all generations, for helping to solve that most difficult of all problems, how and where are the millions of the black race in this country ever to be made free and for spreading the blessings of civilization and the Gospel throughout a vast and barbarous continent, than any other, perhaps than all other human agencies put together. These hopes cheered him, when flesh and heart were failing. It is not given us to know how he regards the enter- prise now ; but we are sure he will shout the victory, when Africa from all her shores, and all her vast interior, shall stretch out her hands unto God, and shall, by his Son, be made free indeed.
NEW ENGLAND ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND.
It will be seen from the dates of the following cor- respondence between Mr. Gallaudet and the projectors of that now prosperous institution, that they had their eye upon him as its first principal, before he left the Asylum for the deaf and dumb in Hartford. To learn that there was a probability of his leaving soon, was sufficient with them to take care that others who wanted his services should not anticipate them. How very desirous they were to obtain him, and how they perse-
236 LTFE AND LABORS OF
vered in their application, as long as there was any hope, these letters show.
William H. Prescott and others to Mr. Gallaudet.
" Boston, August 2d, 1830.
" Sir, — Messrs. Fisher and Prescott reported, at a late meeting of the Trustees of the New England Asy- lum for the Blind, the conversation which took place between you and them, in their visit to Hartford in July last, in which you expressed your opinion relative to the best mode of conducting the proposed institu- tion, and particularly in reference to the expediency of employing some principal person or superintendent, who might acquaint himself with the discipline of similar institutions in Europe, and have the respon- sible management of this at home. The Trustees, on consideration of the subject, are perfectly agreed with you, as to the necessity of obtaining some such indi- vidual, in order to conduct the undertaking to a suc- cessful issue. And although you declined at the time engaging in it, yet the Trustees are induced, by the friendly interest which you expressed for the institu- tion, as well as from your general benevolence, and the uncommon facilities which your large experience in the management of similar establishments gives you, to hope that you may be persuaded to review. your determination, and consent to connect yourself with us.
" We are desired, in behalf of the Trustees, to re- quest you would take the matter into consideration, and see if you cannot make it compatible with your arrangements to associate yourself with our under- taking, at least until it shall have been put in success- ful operation.
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 237
"Should this, on the whole, be inexpedient, you will oblige us if you can designate any individual who you think would be equal to the duties of the office of superintendent, as well as to explain to us what, in your opinion, would be the probable expense of send- ing him to Europe with the purpose of importing a blind instructor, and acquainting himself with the system of instruction pursued there.
" There are many poifcts, indeed, in which it would be extremely desirable to have the benefit of your counsel, which, however, could be done much better by personal conference than by writing. As a Board of Trustees is somewhat too bulky a body to make such an excursion, will you permit us to say, that it will give us great pleasure if you can, at any time, make it convenient to pay us a visit at Boston, and allow us to pay the expenses of it. Whether you consent to take a part in our charitable design or not, the Trustees would consider it a great favor, as well as benefit, to have the opportunity of personal com- munication with you.
" Believe us, sir, with great respect,
"WM. H. PRESCOTT, JOHN D. FISHER, " Rev. Thomas H. Gallaudet." WM. P. MASON.
Mr. Gallaudet1 s answer to the foregoing.
" Hartford, Sept. 6th, 1830.
" To Messrs. Wm. H. Prescott, Jno. D. Fisher, and Wm. P.
Mason, Committee on behalf of the Trustees of the Asylum
for the Blind in Boston :
" Gentlemen,— Please to present my thanks to the
Trustees of the New England Asylum for the Blind,
238 LIFE AND LABORS OF
for the expression of their confidence in me which is contained in your late letter. I feel a deep interest in your undertaking, and earnestly pray that the blessing of Almighty God may rest upon it.
" To such a call of Providence, at the very moment when I am about to leave a similar sphere of labor, I feel it to be my duty to give a deliberate and serious consideration. At present, however, there is so much uncertainty attending the subject, that I wish you to act as if you could place no dependence upon me, and endeavor still to find the suitable person. I, also, will aid in the search.
" My engagements with the Asylum will end the latter part of October. If my life and health are spared, some time during the autumn I will visit Bos- ton, as you request, and afford you any farther aid in my power, so far as my past experience will qualify me to do it. In the meanwhile I earnestly hope that Providence may furnish you with the individual to undertake and carry to a successful result your highly benevolent and interesting project.
"Yours, &c.
"T. H. GALLAUDET."
Mr. Prescott to Mr. Gallaudet.
" Boston, Dec. 6th, 1830. " My Dear Sir, — I received your letter from New York in due season, for which I am very much obliged to you. I will thank you to communicate, as soon as you can conveniently, the returns of the number of blind in New York and Connecticut. I have written
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 239
letters for the same purpose to the marshals of the different States in New England.
" At a meeting of the Trustees last week, the terms which you left with me were unanimously approved. A committee was appointed to draw up a petition to Congress for a grant of land. A meeting of the cor- poration will be held next week for the purpose of changing the name of the institution, and of extending the benefit of instruction gratis to individuals sent to our Asylum by the other States of the Union. The terms offered by the New York University to you appear to be very liberal ; as I do not understand you to state, however, what is to be your permanent salary, I cannot compare them with those offered by us. Our propositions, which in fact were your own, may be considered as amounting to a permanent salary of at least twenty-four hundred dollars a year. The restric- tions with which they are accompanied, for the reasons assigned to you, are of such a natrfre as, I should think, could not in any degree deter you from accept- ing them. The only real contingency, which might at first sight appear unfavorable, is the uncertainty of the funds. I say at first sight, for I believe that any one who considers the claims of this institution, its affecting character, and the liberal patronage which has been bestowed on similar, though much less in- teresting establishments, cannot doubt for a moment of its entire success.
" All these things, however, you can estimate as well as I can ; and its advantages to yourself personally, as compared with other offers, much better. With the wish that you may select that occupation which is best suited to your own character, and to the ful-
240 LIFE AND LABOKS OF
lest exercise of the benevolence with, which you are animated. I am, my dear sir, yours very sincerely,
"WM. H. PKESCOTT."
From the same to the same.
" Boston, Dec. 20, 1830.
11 Dear Sir, — I have just received your letter of the 17th, and regret to find the tenor of it so unpropitious to our wishes. Before communicating its contents to the Trustees, allow me to ask you if there is any thing in the nature of the restrictions which may influence you unfavorably in coming to a decision. If there be, it had better be unequivocally stated, and I am con- vinced it will not be permitted to be an impediment to our mutual agreement.
" I shall defer communicating your letter to the Trustees until I have again heard from you. I trust, upon reviewing the matter, it will present itself in a more auspicious light. I cannot give up the hope of your connecting yourself with us, in an undertaking for which you seem so well qualified by your character and experience, and in which I cannot but think you will have the power of conferring a more extensive benefit on your fellow-creatures than in any other.
" Believe me, dear sir, yours with much esteem,
" WM. H. PRESCOTT."
From the same to the same.
" Boston, Jan. 3d, 1831. "Dear Sir, — I must acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 27th ult., and must thank you for
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 241
the volume of your sermons which, you have sent me, which, however, is still upon the road.
"I am grieved to see, by the newspaper you sent me, the death of Miss Cogswell. She doubtless fell a victim to her attachment to her father, heightened, probably, by her peculiar situation, which had exclu- ded her from general intercourse, in some degree, and concentrated her affections more on home. His death, occurring in the fullness of years, had nothing in it surprising ; but I can hardly realize that one whom I so lately saw, blooming with health and animated with the joyous hopes of young life, should have gone too. It is one of the many lessons that press unheeded on us, of the equally frail tenure by which all ages hold their existence here. The loss must be severely felt by your wife, as well as yourself, with whom, believe me, I sincerely sympathize.
"Your letter has been laid before the Trustees of the Asjdurn, who are not willing to relinquish the hope of }*our eventually connecting yourself with our institution ; but they will not at present disturb you with any communications respecting it, although, in the course of a fortnight, you may expect to hear from them. The situation of }Tour family at the pres- ent moment may perhaps make it inconvenient for you to visit Washington this session, to enforce our claims there. I am requested, however, to consult you respecting this matter, which is disconnected from your ultimately taking part in our undertaking. Per- haps such a journey, should it be deemed expedient, might afford a not unseasonable relief to your mind. We should all, however, be extremely unwilling to urge any thing upon you which might be in the 11
242 LIFE AND LABORS OF
slightest degree either inconvenient or disagreeable, so I beg you will answer frankly on this point. " Believe me, dear sir, with much regard, " Your friend and ser't,
" WM. H. PKESCOTT."
Wm. P. Mason, and others, to Mr. Gallaudet.
" Bostox, Feb. 14th, 1831.
" Dear Sir, — We feel great regret that you do not yet make up your mind to take charge of our young institution. Your objections to a voyage to Europe, founded on Mrs. Gallaudet's state of health, and on the difficulty of finding a suitable person to take care of your domestic concerns during your absence, are cer- tainly entitled to serious consideration. The first of these, however, might be obviated by jDOStponing your visit until your wufe's recovery ; and as to the second we cannot but think, by taking time for it, some suit- able person may be found to superintend your family during the short time, only, which in all probability it will be needful for you to be absent.
" The more we think of our undertaking, the more sanguine we feel of its success. It has not been the character of New England to be deaf to the calls of humanity, and surely there have been few more urgent or more attractive in their nature than this ; and the encouragement we have already experienced from the public, with, we may say, scarcely any efforts on our part, may be fairly taken as a good earnest for the future. We should feel still more sanguine, however, were you to put yourself at the head of the institu-
KEV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 243
tion, for which you are so well qualified by your per- sonal character and large experience. ^Ve doubt, moreover, if there be any sphere in which your pe- culiar talents can be more beneficially or widely ex- erted ; while, at the same time, the occupation would be one of great interest in itself, as affording an oppor- tunity for studying mental phenomena, by no means as yet fully understood, and of studying them not merely for purposes of scientific curiosity, but of ap- plication to the relief to a large class of fellow-creatures. Your residence, whether in or near Boston, will afford you as great facilities for pursuing your own private studies, whatever they may be ; and, Ave may be per- mitted to add, for enjoying the society of men of science and cultivation in as great a degree, perhaps, as in any other great town in our country. ~\Ve say nothing of the pecuniary prospects held out, although contingent on the ultimate success of our enterprise, yet this appears so little doubtful, if prudently con- ducted, that, at least as far as regards your own prov- ince, they can. we hope, be calculated upon with considerable certainty. You will excuse us for laying these views again before you, which we are desirous of doing before you come to a decision ; and we shall defer any communication, should we eventually con- clude to make one, with Mr. Yaughan, until we have heard from you definitively on the subject. " Believe us, sir, with great esteem,
"Your ob't serv'ts,
"WM. P. MASOX, EDWARD BROOKS, WM. H. PRE3C0TT."
244 LIFE AND LABOES OF
Mr. Gallaudefs answer.
" Hartford, Feb. 24th, 1831.
" Gentlemen, — I have been deliberating, with no small degree of concern, on your communication of the 14th inst, which I received a few days since.
"I cannot yet feel it to be my duty to. engage in your service. The peculiar situation of my family weighs heavily upon my mind, and presents an obstacle ivhich I see not how to remove. Did I not suppose that other individuals could be found abundantly com- petent to carry the enterprise into effect, I should feel the obligation pressing upon me with a force scarcely to be resisted. May I have the satisfaction of hearing of your progress, and command my services whenever they will be of any use to you.
" T. H. GALLAUDET."
Mr. Fisher to Mr. Gallaudet.
" Boston, June 27th, 1831.
" Dear Sir, — Our institution will, I think, in the course of time be extensive in its operations, and will not only provide means of instruction to the young, but will provide employment for those who have re- ceived and completed their education ; so that, at no very distant period, there will be a community of blind persons collected together and enjoying the ad- vantages which result from the union of labor and the interchange of thought and sentiment.
" Over such a community it is desirable, and to my mind it is of immense importance, that a person
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 245
should preside who should have the true interests of the helpless blind at heart, and who knows how to govern the human mind and to direct its thoughts. The duties of such an office would be various, and would extend to all the operations of religious, mental and mechanical instruction, and every department of government. For the Trustees wish that he who should be appointed the instructor should take the whole and the entire direction, and propose such laws and regulations as to his mind should seem best adapted to promote the interests of the blind. The Trustees, without an exception, say that they are determined to have a person of the proper qualifications, and that his religious opinions will not be questioned, provided he has the other requisite qualifications. They have, while speaking of you, (and I state the fact, for I have understood that one consideration has operated to induce you to decline the offer which the Trustees proposed, viz : the fear that your peculiar religious sentiments would not be agreeable to the Board,) I say that they have, while speaking of you, expressed the wish that the person who should take charge of the institution should be orthodox in his religious sentiments, for they believe that it would be for the interests of the institution to be governed by such a person.
" Your obedient serv't,
" JOHX D. FISHER."
246 LIFE AND LABORS OF
From the same to the same.
" Boston, Aug. 24th, 1831. " Kev. and Dear Sir, — I had the pleasure of a call from the Eev. Mr. Woodbridge this morning, from whom I learned that you were anxious to learn what progress we have made towards the establishment of our Asylum for the instruction of the blind. I am happy to be able to say, that our prospects are now bright for a speedy establishment of a coiirse of in- struction. The Trustees, about twelve days since, appointed Dr. Samuel Gr. Howe, the friend of the Greeks, to take charge of the institution, and he is now on his way to Europe. I, as one of the Trustees, have regretted much that your feelings would not allow you to assume this charge ; but, since we could not hope for the advantages of your services, we have availed ourselves of those of our fellow-townsman — a gentleman who is highly appreciated and respected. We hope his exertions and success will answer our expectations. "We, sir, shall always feel under obli- gations to you for the interest you have shown towards our cause, and hope that we shall often have the ad- vantage of your advice and influence. ' ' Your ob't and humble serv't,
"JOHN D. FISHER."
Other letters passed between Mr. Gallaudet and the gentlemen charged with the duty of finding a com- petent man to be placed at the head of the Asylum ; but these are sufficient to show their high estimate of his character and qualifications for the office, and how anxious they were to secure his services. Though he
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 247
felt it his duty to decline, he ever after retained a lively interest in its prosperity and increasing use- fulness.
THE NEW YORK UNIVERSITY,
While the correspondence was going on between Mr. Gallaudet and the Asylum for the Blind, which now holds so high a rank among the benevolent insti- tutions of New England, the friends of education were organizing a University in the city of New York, and looking round for men of established character and scholarship to take charge of it. They did not allow it to escape them that Mr. Gallaudet was about to retire from the American Asylum for Deaf Mutes, in Hart- ford, and they wanted him to help carry forward their new magnificent enterprise. Accordingly several gen- tlemen were charged with the agency of consulting him ; and they lost no time, as will be seen from the dates of the following letters. It appears that there had been some previous correspondence, which I have not been able to find ; and the department M r. Gallau- det would have filled in the University had he con- sented to an election, will be seen in the last of these letters.
Dr. Matthews to Mr. Gallaudet.
"New York, Dec. 3d, 1830. " My Dear Friend, — 1 have just returned from the council, where your appointment on the terms proposed was passed unanimously with great cordiality. Come ! come, by all means ! There is a feeling towards you, which was shown voluntarily, and which indicates
248 LIFE AND LABOKS OF
much, both as to comfort and duty. Let me hear from
you soon, and believe me,
"Most truly yours,
"J. M. MATTHEWS."
The same to the same.
" December 14th, 1830. " Dear Sir, — Everything is fixed just to your wishes, and I am every day asked, ' Any news from Mr. Gallaudet ? ' I am very anxious to see you with us ; and I am more and more persuaded that the Lord moves this way. « J. M. M."
From J. Delafield to Mr. Gallaudet.
" December 14th, 1830. " My Dear Sir, — When shall we see you in our good city ? The sooner you can be with us and amongst us the better ; and the more frequent the communication between you and myself, the more agreeable it will be to me. I pray you not to forget that my last parting words assured you a bed in our quiet domicil at your next visit. Among other matters on the carpet, a course of lectures is talked of by Mr. Gallatin ; another by Judge Betts; and' why not another by Mr. Gallau- det ? Such is the language of the day, though I con- fess, as an individual opinion, it does not appear expe- dient to open any lectures until we can come before the public in our wedding garment, and well prepared to assume and sustain a dignified and an imposing ap- pearance.
" I am, very truly and respectfully, yours,
"J. DELAFIELD."
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 249
Dr. Matthews to Mr, Gallaadet.
" New York, Jan. 1st, 1831. " My Dear Sir, — Things seem ripening very fast for giving the appointment of the Philosophy of Education to a certain gentleman in Hartford, if we conld only see him fairly in the University harness. Let me at once say, we do need you exceedingly. We need you for Albany, and we need you for New York, and I assure you there is great anxiety with others as well as myself for your answer. Truly yours,
"J. M. MATTHEWS."
From Mr. Comptroller Flagg to Mr. Gallaudet.
"Albany, Jan. 17th, 1831. " My Dear Sir, — Judge Betts informed me of the prospect of connecting you with the University. I was greatly rejoiced to hear of this, and I hope it may be brought about. Nothing will be done in regard to a Seminary for teachers by the State, and I hope we may look to the University for help in this matter. I have alluded to this in my annual report, which I in- close to you. The superintendent has been informed by a gentleman connected with the proposed Univers- ity in New York, that it was in contemplation to establish a department for the special education of teachers, and that negotiations were going on with a gentleman of great experience in the art of teaching, and who is eminently qualified to take charge of such a department. The consummation of this plan for training teachers is much to be desired, and it has de- cided advantages over a State Seminary for that pur- pose. Yours, truly, » " A. C. FLAGG." 11*
250 LIFE AND LABOES OF
From Mr. Dwight to Mr. Gallaudet.
" New York, Feb. 1st, 1831. " My Dear Sib, — You will learn from the newspa- pers that the election of officers of the University has been made. I presume, of course, that you will feel no hesitation in entering upon the duties of your em- ployment, and I am sure that your services are regarded as immediately necessary. Doctor M. has this day requested me to signify this to you, and this will ac- count for my addressing you on the subject. I cannot but feel that the undertaking is one of a nature well corresponding with your taste and talents, and I anti- cipate great benefits to the Institution, or the branches connected with it, to the State, and the practical science of instruction, from the early enlistment of your exer- tions in the undertaking. It appears that the gentle- men wish to make an early, or rather, I believe, an immediate attempt with the Legislature at Albany, for the laying of some foundation or department of Common School instruction, and are desirous of your assistance there. The present appears to me a pecu- liarly favorable time to make a movement on that im- portant subject.
" Yours, very truly, «T. DWIGHT, Jun."
From Dr. Matthews to Mr. Gallaudet.
" New York, July 6th, 1831. " Deab Sib, — Could you not take a run down to see us, or let me know something of what you con- template? In the course of this month, we make several nominations for professorships, and, with regard
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 251
to yourself, I find but one sentiment. I need not tell you what it is. New York is the place for you, my friend, with its thousand avenues to usefulness, both in religion and literature. When will you be at home ? I feel much inclined to take a run up to see you, if I can make it possible.
" Yours truly,
" J. M. MATTHEWS."
" New York, July 6th, 1832. " My Dear Sir, — Yesterday you were unanimously appointed Professor of the Philosophy of Education, in our University. It will be quite satisfactory, if your health would so permit, should you begin as you proposed, by a few lectures on the subject next winter or spring. At any rate, " no," is a word not to be pronoun^d in this case,
" Other appointments are to be made next week, in addition to the five made yesterday, which were Gallaudet, Yathek, Douglas, Torrey, Mcllvaine. All will be announced together.
" Yours sincerely,
" J. M. MATTHEWS."
High as these expectations were on the part of the friends of the University, and of the cause of general education in the State of New York, none who were ac- quainted with Mr. Gallaudet and his enthusiastical de- votion to the great interests of Education in all its departments, can doubt that he would have filled any station to which he might have been promoted, with dis- tinguished credit and usefulness. But under the over- ruling providence of God, the New York University was not to enjoy the benefits of his labors.
252 LIFE AND LABORS OF
I have said that Mr. Gallaudet had a great many urgent applications from committees and individ- uals, to identify himself as a teacher in the cause of education, as soon as he left the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb ; and some of them were before he left. I have no means of ascertaining the exact num- ber, nor, indeed, is it necessary. Dartmouth College, the Oneida Institute, the Utica Female Seminary, the Norwich Female Seminary, the High School at Bur- lington, New Jersey, New York High School, the Cincinnati Seminary, all wanted him, and most of them were exceedingly pressing in their applications, as the Asylum for the Blind, and the New York Uni- versity, had been before. A large number of these letters have come into my hands, from which I select the following as fair specimens of their general tone.
Thomas R. Mercein to Mr. Gallaudet.
" New York, January 30th, 1829.
" Dear Sir, — A vacancy has recently occurred in the New York High School, in consequence of the decease of the late Mr. Baimes, one of the associate principals.
" The trustees, desirous of engaging a principal of distinguished reputation to fill the vacancy, have au- thorized a Committee (of which I am Chairman) to make application to you, to ascertain whether it would suit your views and wishes to accept the situation.
" I have been informed by Dr. Griscom, that you inspected the school when on a visit to this city last summer, and hence, are somewhat acquainted with its location, appearance, and general character.
REV. THOS, II. GALLAUDET. 253
M The income of the Principal is not definitely fixed, but will in some measure depend on the success of the institution. It may, however, be safely estimated at not less than $1500, or more than $2250 per annum.
"Presuming that you would not be disposed to enter into so important engagement without a pre- vious visit and interview with the Committee, in which all necessary information can be given, I am authorized, and with great pleasure invite you to visit the city, and to add, that in case of non-acceptance, your expenses will be paid by the Board.
"It is my duty to state, that the situation of the senior department is such, as to require immediate and efficient aid, and I therefore indulge the hope, that you will afford the Committee a very early op- portunity of submitting your answer to the Board. I am, with great respect,
" Your obedient servant,
" THOMAS R. MERCEIX.''
" P. S. I heard from one of your friends, that it was doubtful whether you were in Boston or at home, and hence have written this duplicate addressed Boston."
Writing to Mr. Gallaudet, with regard to the pro- jected establishment of a teachers' seminary in An- dover, the professors of the Theological Seminary there, thus express their views and wishes.
To Mr. Gallaudet
" Axdoyer, November 2nd, 1835. " Dear Sir, — The doings of the trustees and their committee have been communicated to us, and after
254 LIFE AND LABORS OF
consultation, we have concluded to express to you, by letter, our serious convictions as to the importance of the object to be accomplished, and as to the best way of accomplishing it.
" Few institutions have been established in our land, which, in our view, have a better claim to public patronage, than the seminary for teachers in this place. But we know very well that you need no remarks of ours to convince you of this. The fact is, that your own remarks have added much to the impression ive before had, of the preeminent importance of such an institution. Your engaging in the business of in- struction in the seminary, will be regarded as a favor to the public, not to yourself. It will be of great importance to the success of the effort to secure the fund, that your design to become a teacher should be known.
" Such is our conviction. We need not tell you how gratifying it will be to us, and to all in this place, to have you settled here, and to be united with you in the work we are attempting to execute for the promotion of learning and religion. May wis- dom from above be abundantly imparted to you, and to all who are engaged in this important under- taking. We are, dear sir, yours very sincerely,
''LEONARD WOODS, MOSES STUART, RALPH EMERSON."
To which Mr. Gallaudet returned the following answer, dated
" Hartford, November 9th, 1835. " Gentlemen, — Let some six or ten prominent in-
BET. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 255
dividual s be conversed with, or written to, by some persons deeply interested in the object, who it will be thought will have the greatest influence with them, to see if some few cannot be found who will take hold strongly and give very liberally. Then let a larger meeting be agreed upon in Boston, which I will en- deavor to attend, unless the brethren here should posi- tively object to my going, which, I presume, they would not do. At such meeting it will be easy to determine whether the whole thing will go forward or not. If at such a meeting, or by any effort previous to it, a sufficient sum can be raised to make the compensation secure, which the trustees have voted to allow me for my services, I am willing to consider the written con- ditional engagement which I gave to Mr. Barton, as binding on me, and will make such subsequent efforts, after my connection with the institution, to raise ad- ditional funds as may be necessary.
" To tell you frankly, I have all along felt, and still feel more strongly than ever, that if the seminary has not importance enough attached to it, in the esti- mation of the Board of Trustees, its friends on the hill, and the circle of highly intelligent and benevolent friends of Zion in Boston, to give a powerful and direct impression to the effort that must be made to endow it with necessary funds, and if this effort is to be made at the very outset, principally by the indi- vidual whose support is to come from this effort, and for which support indeed, it is mostly needed, the time has not arrived for such an individual to devote himself to its interests. For from all this it would seem that the public mind is not yet prepared to
256 LIFE AND LABORS OF
appreciate the value of his services in such a sphere of duty.
" Yerj sincerely yours,
" T. H. GALLAUDET.
It was found that the necessary fund could not be raised, and so the enterprise was given up. The time had not come for the establishment of teachers' seminaries, but it was approaching, and such efforts served to hasten it.
The following letter from Dr. Thomas Eobbins to Mr. Gallaudet, shows how gladly the Board of Education in Massachusetts, would have placed him at the head of the first Normal School in this country.
From Dr. Thomas Bobbins.
Rochester, Mass., January 5th, 1838.
" Eev. Mr. Gallaudet, — Before you receive this I think you will have a letter from Rev. Dr. Davis, of Westfielcl. The Board of Education, of this State, for the supervision and improvement of common schools, had their annual meeting last week at the Council Chamber in Boston, and resolved, as a leading measure of their proceedings, to establish a few schools for the instruction of teachers. I told them that you re- commended such a measure, in a series of well written numbers, in a newspaper several years ago. The Board hope to be able, eventually, to have enough to supply the wants of the state, yet as it is to some extent a matter of experiment, they will begin with three.
"And now, Brother Gallaudet, we want you to take the charge of the first Normal School. The
KEV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 257
object is to instruct the pupils in such a manner, as will fit them for the best teaching and management of common schools. Probably something will be done in lecturing. It must, however, be left in a great degree, to the Principal. There will be no charge for tuition. The schools are to be furnished with the necessary apparatus and libraries. There are several important reasons why you should comply with our request.
" 1st. I think this measure will be adopted in other states extensively, and the experiment ought to be made in the best manner.
" 2nd. We want to manufacture the most of our school books. Once when you were in Dr. Hawes' study he desired you to turn your attention to that, subject. I do not think a correct man could be found that would be so acceptable to all, as yourself.
" 3rd. Few men, if any, are so conversant with the human mind in its simplest form as yourself. With great respect. Your friend and brother,
" THOMAS BOBBINS.
As early as 1829, Mr. Gallaudet entered warmly into the plan of General Cocke, of Virginia, for the establishment of a school of high order at Monticello, on Mr. Jefferson's magnificent estate just out of Charlottesville, which might, at that time, have been purchased on the most advantageous terms. He opened a correspondence with Dr. Griffin and some other prominent friends of Christian education, on the subject. Dr. Griffin's answer is before me, and is here inserted.
258 LIFE AND LABORS OF
" Williams College, October 3rd, 1829. " Eev. and Dear Sir, — Your very interesting and obliging letter, about the magnificent designs of Gen- eral Cocke, reached me in vacation. I should have answered it at once, but I wished to consult my col- leagues, who were absent, respecting the possibility of naming any person or persons suitable for the Monti- cello establishment. I have also had an interview with a gentleman from New York, of whom I made in- quiries. I am not able at present to name any person. The Principal of that institution ought to be a man, not only of piety and liberal feelings, but of great prudence and activity and management, and specially adapted to the business of instruction. If General Cocke does not succeed at once in obtaining the proper man, I hope he will not be discouraged. An entrance on such a sacred and sublime undertaking in the name of the Lord, and with deep and unceasing prayer, cannot fail to succeed. It is a day when nothing is too much for the prayer of faith. The three objects presented in our group, constitute a halo of no or- dinary splendor. I feel gratified and complimented by having them presented to me, and by a friend whom I sincerely regard, and who, were he at leisure, I should certainly mention as the best fitted for that station, in connection with the Asylum in Charlottes- ville. Should the place not be filled, I should feel flattered by any future reference to me, and happy to afford any aid in my power. I thank you also for your letter by Mr. Bartlett. I am, dear sir, with great respect and esteem,
" Your sincere friend,
E. D. GRIFFIN."
EEV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 259
The following extracts from a letter of the Kev. Alfred Mitchell, to Mr. Gallaudet, inviting him to Norwich, are here inserted.
" Norwich, January 24th, 1831: " Dear Sir, — I, a short time since, addressed a few lines to you relative to our Female Academy, request- ing your recommendation of some one to take charge of it. To this I have received no reply, perhaps be- cause taking me at my word, you concluded to do it ' at your leisure.' But we are now beginning to feel in some haste, and I am now authorized, as a member of Committee, to confer with you upon the subject, hoping that you may think favorably of coming to our aid yourself. I think you may rely upon what I said in my first letter, relative to the prospects of the Academy, with one of known qualifications and ce- lebrity at its head. You know something of the dis- tinguished liberality of my people, and they are now so much engaged in this matter, that I believe they would freely make generous sacrifices to have the school, in all respects, what it should be. We are suffering for want of a first rate Female Seminary in this part of the State, and wish one to become such, and, doubtless, under your superintendence it would be rapidly filled with pupils, not only from this neigh- borhood, but from a distance, and be productive of a very ample support. I hope you will take into con- sideration our wants, and by taking charge of our children, make a thousand little volumes to transmit your name, and perpetuate your usefulness.
" WiD you have the goodness to favor me with an early reply to this? and if your own coming is out
260 LIFE AND LABOES OF
of the question, will you mention, as before requested, some one suitable for the place ? Yours, &c,
" ALFKED MITCHELL."
It will be remembered by many who read this memoir, that about the time when Mr. Gallaudet re- tired from the Asylum, there was a popular current in favor of connecting manual labor with academies and other educational seminaries, by which indigent students might earn their board and tuition in part, at least, and all might be benefited in their health. One of the earliest and most popular of these was the Oneida Institute, near Utica. Though experience has not answered the expectation of those who introduced the system, some wise and practical educators fell in with it for a time, of whom Mr. Gallaudet was one. How desirous the trustees of the Oneida Institute were to secure him as its Principal, will be seen from the following official communication.
" Utica, Nov. 10th, 1831.
" Kev. Sie, — We presume you have heard of a new and interesting school in this quarter, called the 1 Oneida Institute of Science and Industry,' designed to combine physical with intellectual education, and to afford an opportunity for the more indigent young men, and especially those of piety and talents, to ob- tain scientific instruction at a comparatively small ex- pense. It originated about four years since, and its success hitherto has more than equaled the expecta- tions of its founders. Similar institutions have, since that time, arisen in different parts of the country, and are multiplying. Our own has so far advanced at the present time, as to require permanent regulations and
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 261
arrangements for the several departments, and the Board of Trustees, of which we are members, are now engaged in that business. The whole number of students which our buildings will accommodate is one hundred ; and the number will not be increased very soon, if ever, although hundreds continue to apply for admission whom we are compelled to refuse.
" The reverend gentleman who has hitherto been at the head of this institution, and the originator of the system, will very probably leave us next spring, to assist in rearing a similar institution at the West, or continue to act as our general agent for a time. He has been employed almost exclusively in the miscella- neous business of the establishment since its origin, not in the instruction of the students ; nor does he wish to be at the head of that department. We must therefore provide a principal for the institute, and this is the occasion of our present address. We are in- formed that you are not yet engaged in any course of public emploj-ment, and although we may not offer to you a proposition in all respects of the most flattering character, we believe a greater field of usefulness is not often presented, and that the situation and circum- stances of a principal in our academy will not fall below your notice.
" The location of the academic buildings is pleasant, and only three miles from this place. They consist principally of a chapel, students' buildings, work-shop and farm-house. To these will be added two dwelling- houses for teachers, which, with the chapel and stu- dents' buildings, will form an amphitheater.
UA juvenile department, to be attached to the academy, is thought of, and the subject is with a
262 LIFE AND LABOES OF
separate committee. But schools for children are near the institute, which is within the village of Whitesboro'.
" Our academy is on the successful tide of its pro- gress, and has fully proved its capacity for the objects intended. It has attracted attention from almost every part of the United States. It originated all the other experiments in the system, and holds a conspicuous seat above them all. It has not hitherto met with any material obstacles to its progress or prosperity, nor do we anticipate any. Our pecuniary resources have been drawn (so far as real estate is concerned) from the gratuitous liberality of patrons far and near. For the salaries of the teachers, we look principally to the proceeds of tuition, and our annual proportion from the State literature fund.
" Our students occupy their rooms for study, and assemble for recitation.
" Permit us, sir, in conclusion, to solicit your atten- tion to this new and promising enterprise of the Oneida Institute. Its varied and extended utility we have not room to portray. Many of its benefits, or those of which it may be capable, will no doubt occur to you. They thicken and extend in our own minds from year to year. Permit us to hope that motives enough may be found to induce you to come and take charge of the institute early the next spring. And so soon as your convenience will admit, will you favor us with a reply to this letter.
" We are, Eev. and dear sir,
" Your friends and humble serv'ts,
" D. 0. LANSING, S. C. AIKIN, " Rev. T. H. Gallaudet." WALTER KING.
KEV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 263
This application, though urgently seconded, did not succeed. Mr. G. had too many other and more at- tractive calls to induce him to go into any manual labor school.
Another urgent application was from Cincinnati.
From Dr. Lyman Beecher.
" Cincinnati, Nov. 9th, 1835. " My Dear Brother, — I told you when here, that you were the education man for the West, and that you must come. This conviction, the importance of your presence and influence, has been steadily increas- ing since you left. You can do, in the sphere of securing confidence, and exerting, combining and guiding effort, more than any other man. The ques- tion is settled in my mind, that your influence for education will* be a hundred fold greater here than at the East, and that you ought not to spend your time merely in teaching, any more than a commander-in- chief of an army ! You may become a professor in the Cincinnati college, should it be resuscitated by a union with the "Woodward school, or president of the college, as should seem best ; though, to my apprehen- sion, the best thing would be to act at discretion for the cause of education at the West. And it is my earnest prayer and hope that you may be sent and sustained, by the friends of Christ, to help us concern- ing this our labor ; and if you have any hesitation, only permit our friends to send you out once more on an exploring tour.
"Affectionately yours,
< LYMAN BEECHER."
264 LIFE AND LABOES OF
From Dr. Daniel Drake.
" Cincinnati, Nov. 9th, 1835.
" Dear Sir, — Ever since I had the pleasure of see- ing you in this city, I have felt a desire that you should become its denizen. I am of opinion that no portion of the United States of America has greater need of such good offices to the great cause of educa- tion as you are wont to bestow, and that you could no where exert so diffusive and productive an influence.
" The Cincinnati College was chartered in 1819, and continued in operation for five or six years. It was then suspended, and the building went to decay. The year 1835 has revived education and repaired the building. We have a full medical faculty, and up- wards of sixty students, and a full law faculty and between fifteen and twenty students. It remains to organize the academical faculty, and then to engraft on the whole a class of pupils preparing for the busi- ness of teaching in common schools, academies and colleges. The whole of these might be formed into one corps, for moral and professional instruction by yourself. Out of the Woodward High School, amply endowed, we hope ere long to be able to form such a department for teachers, and I wish you to consider whether you would be willing to take a professorship in it. I should be happy to hear from you in a gen- eral way as soon as is convenient.
" Yours very respectfully,
" DANIEL DRAKE."
I have room for only one more of these applications. It was from the Kev. Cortlandt Van Rensselaer, to
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 265
come and unite with him in getting up an important school, and conducting a magazine in Burlington, 1ST. J.
" Burlington, July 28th, 1835.
" My Dear Friend, — The house is still standing in expectation of your arrival ; and I am also stand- ing on the tip-toe of hope, wishing mightily to see you and to have a talk.
" I spent the whole afternoon of the day before yes- terday in conversation with Mr. Chauncey, in reference to the school, and to various plans of doing good in Burlington. He has the utmost confidence that the school will succeed, and be in a prosperous condition almost immediately. The house and location he con- siders as just the very thing. He takes a deep and affectionate interest in the institution. Mr. Chauncey says that he will cheerfully become one of ten to throw in one thousand dollars each for the purchase of the property, or one of five to give two thousand dollars each. Can you not come here for a day and see how matters look ? It really does seem to me as if thus much was now fairly required of you.
" I may remark that there is an excellent printing establishment here, where wrork can be done as neatly and as cheap, if not cheaper, than in Philadelphia. Any books you might wish to publish could be printed here as well as in Hartford. Our magazine would be printed here in the spring. As to this, by the way, we must start it soon. And would it not be well for us to be together at least for a year or two, so that we might constantly consult together about the various details and great ends connected with so responsible a work ? I will throw out one more hint. If it is ad- 12
266 LIFE AND LABOES OF
visable to start an institution of a high character in this country for the education of the free colored popu- lation, you may rely upon it that there is no place within the limits of the United States (and on this point I speak advisedly) so well adapted for its loca- tion as Burlington County.
" Oh ! may the Lord be with us in all our plans. May he guide you, my dear and respected brother, into all truth and to Burlington ; and he shall have praises, most sincere, at least from
" CORTLAXDT VAN RENSSELAER."
" Burlington, N. J., Dec. 26th, 1836.
" Eev. and Dear Brother, — I wonder which way your thoughts predominantly incline as regards the fu- ture ? Have you entirely given up the plan of turning Jerseyman f What do you think about our school here ? and our periodical? and our African school? and a good many other good things ? I cannot but think that your mind has been pondering over these sub- jects, and that God is turning your heart to these enterprises. Far be it from me to attempt to influence you, my dear sir, against the convictions of a clear sense of duty. But if circumstances continue to indi- cate a change in your plans, I entreat you to remember Burlington. There can be no mistake as to its being a most admirable location for a school. It is a beau- tiful, central position, which commands superior ad- vantages for such an undertaking.
11 1 believe we might, under God, be the means of doing great, very great good by our periodical, both
REV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 267
at the north and south. Without your aid, I cannot think of undertaking it. There is no more advanta- geous place in the Union than this for the conducting of a periodical on the slavery question ; and if I could be useful in cooperating in the establishment of such a periodical, I should feel abundantly justified in re- maining here many years. There is, too, a very wide field of usefulness in the surrounding country. A minister who should come here as you would, might undoubtedly receive a compensation of four or five dollars for missionary services on the Sabbath, from the Missionary Society.
" May God direct you in the right way ! " Affectionately, your brother in Christ,
" CORTLANDT VAN RENSSELAER."
" Burlixgtox. X. J., March 14th, 1837. ''My Dear Brother, — I cannot let you off so easily. It seems to me, somehow or other, that you must come to Burlington, open a school, conduct the periodical, assist in establishing a good institution for the blacks in this neighborhood, preach in these deso- late regions, enjoy this fine climate, drink our good water, and carry on an intercourse with the city of brotherly love. You may depend that such an open- ing for usefulness does not often occur east of the Mississippi. Thou art the man for the field. Your last letter, it is true, is rather discouraging. I would not willingly do a thing that would interfere with your highest usefulness in this life. If a fine institu- tion, of a literary and scientific character, can be estab-
268 LIFE AND LABORS OF
listed in Hartford, then may God speed it, and bless yon, if yon engage in it. Or if any enterprise comes up which bears more directly upon yonr tastes, habits, qualifications, nsefnlness or interests, than the aforesaid plan abont Bnrlington, I give np without a murmur.
" The periodical has more engaged my heart of late than ever. I believe that the welfare of the African race urgently requires such an instrumentality. The unsettled state of public opinion at the north demands it. The intelligent and conscientious slaveholders at the south demand it. Both sections of country want light. I do not think it at all important to the success of the work, that a single subscriber south of the Potomac should be obtained as a preliminary condi- tion. The fact is, if the work is good for any thing, especially if it be conducted on the great principles of social and national order, it will find its way south faster than we can dream of. And even if the south should not support it, there is abundant — I say abun- dant necessity for such a work merely in reference to northern feeling. I conscientiously believe that noth- ing is more called for, in connection with the African population, than this very thing. Let us, my brother, arise in the Lord, and perform our part in behalf of Ethiopia. I want to do something more for this peo- ple before I die. And I am persuaded, that no more important enterprise for their good now suggests itself. I verily think that you are the man to take hold as chief. I am ready to stand by and lend what services I am master of. Reconsider once more, for Africa's sake. Your school would certainly flourish. " Yours affectionately,
" CORTLANDT VAN RENSSELAER.'
REV. TIIOS. II. GALL AU PET. 269
Among Mr. Gallaudet's papers, I find a plan drawn out, manifestly the result of much reflection, in a letter to John Tappan, Esq., of Boston, for the establishment of a school for very young children; not an infant school, as that term was understood a quarter of a century ago, but a great improvement upon that — to plant the seeds of a thorough Christian educa- tion in the minds of children as early as practicable. It appears that in drawing up this letter, Mr. Gallaudet acted in behalf of an association of gentlemen (names not mentioned) who coincided with him in the belief that such a school, to serve as a model for others, was very desirable, provided he would consent to take charge of it, which it will be seen he seemed inclined to do.
" Hartford, March 27th, 1828.
"Dear Sir, — I intended this morning to have replied to your letter of the 2 2d March, and to have suggested for your consideration another plan on the subject of education, when I received yours of yesterday.
" The proposals in your first letter were of such a nature that I did not hesitate to communicate them to several of my friends, although I have not taken any steps, with reference to them and my connection with the Asylum, in the way of business.
" It will produce me some little embarrassment, but I consider it as one of those dispensations of Providence, which ought to teach us submission to his will, and de- pendence on his guidance. Be assured I shall not, on this account, feel at all unpleasantly towards yourself
" I have alluded to another plan ; permit me to sug- gest it for your consideration, and those of your friends who take an interest in the cause of education. I will
270 LIFE AND LABORS OF
express my views freely, stating also that I am willing to receive proposals with regard to the plan I am about to develop, while, at the same time, it mnst be under- stood that the question of duty with regard to my leav- ing my present situation is not not yet fully settled in my own min.^ .
" I have thought, for a long time, that the attention of the public is by no means sufficiently directed to the education of children and youth in its earliest stages, I mean between the ages of three and eight. You know what is doing in England on this subject, at the origi- nal instigation of the distinguished Mr. Brougham. I am told that there are now two hundred infant schools in England, and that a great national society is about to be formed with reference to this object.
"Amid all the other projects of doing good, have Christians felt the importance of directing greater efforts to the religious as well as intellectual instruction of quite young children, especially the children of the church, upon an intelligible, rational, and philosophi- cal plan ? Will not most Christian parents admit, that, to say the least, the education of their children till the age of six or seven years is conducted in a very loose and desultory way ? How few, very few, suitable books, especially on religious subjects, are to be found for chil- dren of that age, let our Sabbath-school teachers testify. In developing the intellectual and moral powers of children, in teaching them language, and in conveying knowledge, especially religious truth, to their minds, is it not of importance to begin right ?
"May not great improvements in the earliest stages of education be reasonably anticipated? Ought not great efforts to be made to have them introduced ?
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 271
" I have been teaching infantile minds for ten years, daily and laboriously. I think I see clearly how I could bring the results of my experience to bear upon the minds of children who can hear and speak, so as to produce most important effects in the early stages of education, and also upon the preparation of suitable books, especially of a religious kind, which would greatly, under the blessing of God, promote the early growth of piety in the human heart. What an aid would such books afford both to parents and teachers !
" 1. Suppose, in a city like Boston, some ten or twelve families should unite and establish a private school for the instruction of their children under six or seven years of age, and I should take charge of it for one year, devoting to it about five hours a day, and having sufficient vacation for relaxation.
" In such a school and in such a time I could apply the principles which we have found so successful in teaching the deaf and dumb, and devise, arrange, and mature, a new, and permit me to say, more rational mode of instruction than any now in operation. I speak of a private school, because I had rather begin in a noiseless way, and have the best opportunity of being able to present to the public, with a good degree of con- fidence, a system of instruction for such young minds-
"2. At the end of the year, or sooner if all things were ready, I would show the results of my efforts, and I am sanguine enough to believe that they would both interest and surprise all intelligent and benevolent minds. I would then propose to enlarge the school to any practicable extent, and make it a permanent model school for the education of young children, on philoso- phical and evangelical principles.
272 LIFE AND LABORS OF
"3. In such, a school, made if thought best a public one, or continued as a private one for the education of the children of the higher classes of society, persons might easily be qualified to diffuse the system pursued, to any extent, throughout our country, both among the children of the poor, in public establishments, and among those of the more affluent in private ones. "What good might thus be done, when j~ou consider the whole youthful population of the country !
"4. At first, I should expect to devote myself per- sonally to the actual details of teaching, having an assistant, however, who, by becoming familiarly ac- quainted with my mode of instruction, would be quali- fied to aid in the contemplated enlargement of the school.
"5. Eventually, by training up suitable assistants, I should expect to be released from many of the details of teaching, having still the constant and daily over- sight of the school, but thus finding leisure to prepare books for such little children, which, being the results of actual experience, and being tested among my own pupils, would possess many and great advantages for being used in other similar schools, in Sabbath schools, and in families.
" 6. Such a school should eventually be located in a healthful and pleasant part of the city, having ample play grounds for the children, and my own residence, if possible, forming a part of the general establishment.
"7. Do not think me chimerical; but I must go still further — the field of enterprise opens wide before me. Connected with the permanent model school, and in the same or a contiguous building, should be 'An Athenaeum of Juvenile Literature.' The funds, small
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 273
in amount, necessary to carry it into effect should be raised by shares in stock, entitling each stockholder to its advantages. Here I would have collected all the books published in our own country, in England, and in France, or, at any rate, most of them, for the use of children in the early stages of education, together with all the practical treatises on this subject. Copies of all books published in our own country would, I have no doubt, be cheerfully furnished gratis. I would also have all the ingenious apparatus and contrivances em- ployed in the instruction of children here collected. Such an Athenaeum would exhibit all that is doing in this interesting department of education ; it would be a source of great gratification and improvement to parents, to teachers, and to all interested in the subject ; it would furnish many valuable books for republication ; and it would afford me a great deal of valuable information with regard to still further improvements in the model school, and in the preparation of school books.
11 8. Have patience still. I would have connected with the establishment a 'Child's Museum,' containing objects calculated not only to gratify the curiosity of little folks, but also furnishing the means of conversing with them on subjects which, without such objects, it would be very difficult to explain intelligibly to them. Such a museum would be of immense advantage to the model school. It would receive ample donations from the benevolent ; and by admitting the public at suita- ble stated times, at a moderate charge, would support itself. I should be willing to undertake it at my own risk.
"9. Once more, and I have done. Should I go to Boston or elsewhere, in the providence of God, for such 12*
274 LIFE AND LABOES OF
objects, i would propose to the church to which. I should attach myself, to take the children of the mem- bers of the church, and of such of the society as would wish to unite with them on the Sabbath, and have a little (or perhaps it would be a large) congregation of youth under ten or twelve years of age, with whom I would pray, and to whom I would preach, in a manner suited to their capacity. What an interest would thus be excited in their minds, instead of that tediousness which they feel in attending, as they now do, on services which they cannot understand! Would not such a plan, if successfully carried into effect, be worthy of being adopted extensively ?
" You see how I would thus become the children's teacher, and friend, and spiritual guide. Work enough for a life, if Providence should afford strength. In all that I have said I beg to be considered as giving no pledge. Such plans I have revolved in my own mind, and now suggest them to yours. I wish the subject to be confined to the small circle of a few of your in- telligent and pious friends ; permit me to include par- ticularly the Eev. Dr. Beecher and Kev. Edward Beecher, with the latter of whom I have often con- versed on this and kindred topics.
" May I beg the favor of hearing from you very soon on the subject. I have other proposals which de- mand my serious and speedy attention. I ask, too, a remembrance in your prayers, that God would guide me in the path of duty, and render my poor services, either here or elsewhere, promotive of the prosperity of the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
" Yours with sincere esteem, " Mr. John Tappan." " T. H. GALLAUDET.
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 275
A copy of this letter appears to have been sent to Dr. Alexander, of Princeton, asking his opinion of the plan, and he highly approved of it.
Though the plan was never carried ont in that shape, and on the broad basis contemplated, it was the off- spring of liberal and enlightened minds, and who can tell bnt that the outlines will hereafter be adopted in a more elementary system of Christian education than has yet been pursued?
A letter from a committee in Boston on the same subject is here inserted, with Mr. Gallaudet's answer :
" Boston, Oct. 10th, 1838.
"Dear Sir, — The Primary School Board of this city, having taken the incipient measures for the establish- ment of a model school, and appointed the subscribers a committee, to " have the particular oversight and control of the same," we have thought it to be our duty, in the prosecution of the work assigned us, to address ourselves to the friends of education and those experienced in the business of instruction, that we may obtain from them such hints, suggestions, facts or practical remarks as they may have to offer, that will aid us in executing the plan proposed for the improve- ment of our primary schools.
" The pnpils of our schools are from four to seven years of age, and our desire is to obtain from those who have made the subject of early instruction, as it is conducted in our own or other countries, a matter of particular research and thought, their opinion as to the number of, and most appropriate studies for, child- ren of this age ; the best methods of conveying this instruction to their minds, the physical exercises with
276 LIFE AND LABORS OF
which thej may and ought to be accompanied, and the modes of discipline which are most approved, or have been most successfully practiced.
" We solicit from you, sir, in particular, an expression of views on these points, believing that your experi- ence and knowledge will lead to suggestions that will greatly aid us in the formation of a school worthy to be considered a model, not only for our own, but for all others of a similar character, wherever thep may be established.
" We append a few queries which may assist in guid- ing you more specifically to the points at which we aim. An answer in general, or in particular to one or more of these questions will be gratefully received ; " And we remain, very respectfully,
" Your friends and obedient servants,
" LEWIS- G. PRAY, R. W. BAYLET, J. F. BUMSTEAD, GEORGE W. OTIS, Jun., ENOCH HOBART.
"1. How many, and what, in your opinion, are the studies which should be required of children be- tween four and seven years of age ?
"2. What are the best modes of discipline for such a class of children ?
" 3. What moral and religious exercises and studies should be introduced, and how conducted ?
"4. What is the best method of teaching the sounds of vowels and consonants? the alphabet? read- ing ? spelling ? arithmetic ? and so of any other study which may be recommended ?
" 5. What methods can be adopted for making chil-
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 277
dren understand the lessons which they are re- quired to learn ?
11 6. What physical exercises can be introduced, how conducted, and what portion of time should they occupy ?
11 7. What apparatus is required in such a school ?
" 8. What books are the best, in your opinion, for the studies recommended ? "
Dr. Gallaudet to Lewis G. Pray and others. Committee.
" Hartford, Oct. 13, 1838.
" Gentlemen, — We have much yet to learn in the department of juvenile education. Had I the care of such a school, I should feel this deeply. I would adopt pertinaciously no particular system, but com- mence with a few simple principles of procedure, and preserve as much as possible the features of the family state in the school ; feel my way along, mould- ing things into shape gradually, altering, amending, and abolishing, when necessary, and slowly maturing what I might hope, at the expiration of some four or five years, to call a model school. It seems to me that everything depends on him whom you get as the" principal of such an institution. He should be a man of piety, simplicity, childlike and Christianlike ; a man of prayer, of practical,' everyday, self-denying benevo- lence, who loves to study his Bible, imbibe its spirit, and to make it his constant counselor and guide. He should have genuine originality of mind, and the power of investigation; be wedded to no system, neither his own or to one of others ; apt to learn as well as to teach ; ready to hear suggestions, and to
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profit by them ; speculative, yet practical ; enthusiastic, yet cautious ; and, above all, be able to enter into the very souls of children, to think as they think, and to feel as they feel, loving them as if he were their father, and winning them by his looks, voice, manners and conversation to love him and to confide in him. He should have had experience in teaching, the more the better, and have acquired a tact of managing young pupils, but without anything pedagogicaily stiff, or formally dogmatic, or unyielding.
"Find such a man, or such a woman, and it seems to me that you will have gone through much more than half of your labor. Give such an individual the results of your inquiries, and your general directions as to the plan (as simple as possible, and susceptible of con- tinual modification, as the light of experience shall be cast upon it,) that is to be pursued. Treat him with great confidence ; let him feel the laudable ambition of himself devising and maturing, under your auspices and supervision, but without dictating the precise course which he is to follow, what may at length truly deserve the high appellation of a model primary school, worthy of universal praise and imitation. Excuse the freedom with which I give you these terse hints.
"While I think on the one hand that the actual amount of book studying to be pursued in the school which you propose should be comparatively small, that there should be no pushing forward the young and tender minds in it, in a way to make them precocious, or the school a wonder for the early attainments it can exhibit, and everything should be done to cultivate to the highest point of perfection bodily health, cheerfulness, elastic buoyancy of happy feeling, pious and benevolent
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 279
affections, taste, good habits and manners of the chil- dren, and to impart the knowledge suited to their age and capacity ; on the other hand, while I contemplate what the education (using the word in its comprehen- sive import) of a child is from the age of four to that of seven, and the powerful influence for good which a model school for such children, judiciously con- ducted, might exert throughout our whole country, I feel anxious that the head of it should be worthy of the elevated station he would be called to fill.
" But can all our primary schools hope to have such an individual to conduct them ? That cannot be ex- pected ; but you are to mature a system ; you are to hold up a model ; you hope to set a great moral ma- chinery in motion, on a somewhat new and improved principle. You need no common mind to be your successful agent in doing this.
" Find this mind, and look to God for his guidance and blessing, and the rest of your work will be easy. " Yours, with great respect,
" THOMAS H. GALLAUDET."
280 LIFE AXD LABORS OF
CHAPTER II.
Mr. Gallaudet's long experience in teaching the deaf and dumb, and studying how to reach and de- velop their intellectual and moral faculties, deepened his persuasion from year to year, that this experience admitted of a much wider application in the science of education, and increased his desire to be released as soon as he might, so as to devote a part of his time, at least, to the writing of elementary books for young children, and to furnish entertaining religious reading for them as their years increased.
We have seen how, as soon as he left the asylum, and even before, he was pressed on every side by ap- plications which would have left him no time for writing books of any sort ; and in view of what he ac- tually accomplished by his multiform educational serv- ices, we cannot but wonder how he contrived to write so many as he did. The following is a list of those which have been widely circulated, both at home and abroad, and which, in the judgment of the wise and good, enrol the name of Gallaudet among the most gifted and attractive writers in the department which he occupied.
They are, the Every-Day Christian, the Child's Book on the Soul, the Child's Book on Repentance, the Child's Book of Bible Stories, Youth's Book on
REV. TITOS. IT. GALLAUDET. 281
Natural Theology ; nine volumes of Scripture Biog- raphy, commencing with Adam and Joseph, and leav- ing off with Jonah ; the Child's Picture Defining and Beading Book, and Mother's Primer.
Besides these, the schools are indebted to him and the Kev. Horace Hooker, for the Practical Spelling Book, with reading lessons, and the School and Family Dictionary, on a new plan, which must have cost them a great deal of time and labor. And, then, added to all these, his contributions to annuals, magazines, and other journals of the day, would make a very large volume. The bare titles, which I have no room for, would oc- cupy a large space.
From the mass of letters commendatory of his books, I select the folowing :
Mr. Abbott to Mr. Gallaudet.
" New York, June 7th, 1836.
"Bev. and Dear Sie, — I have the pleasure to communicate to you a vote of the Executive Com- mittee of the 'American Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge,' at their meeting last night.
" The Committee of Publication, through the Chair- man, reported to the Executive Committee, that 'no time was to be lost, in carrying into effect,' some of the plans proposed by the Society, as the ' mischief which is daily done,' by presses ' of an infidel and im- moral tendency, is incalculable.' They also recom- mend, as ' an indispensable measure, the immediate employment of additional literary aid, to carry for- ward the various departments of the Society's contem- plated labors.'
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"Whereupon, it was 'Resolved, That the Executive
Committee proceed to the election of two individuals for this purpose.
" 'Resolved, That the salary of $2000, per annum, be offered to each of these individuals, with assurances of augmentation as the resources of the Society shall justify.'
"The Committee went into election, by ballot, which resulted in the unanimous choice of the Eev. Jacob Abbott and the Eev. T. H. Grallaudet.
" The Secretary was instructed, in communicating these resolutions to the gentlemen elect, to assure them of the liberal views entertained by the Committee, in regard to the compensation which the Executive Officers of the Society should ultimately receive ; that the Committee appreciate the labors of an editor or author, as they do those of other professions, and that, if the publications of the Society shall be so conducted as to be in any wise productive, the editor or author, by whose toil they are sustained, shall receive the proportionate reward which justice and an enlightened policy will assign him.
" The next meeting of the Executive Committee will be held on Friday evening, January 20th. They earnestly invite the attendance of the gentlemen elected on that occasion, for the sake of conference on the various topics to be considered, in connection with this appointment.
" The Committee believe both gentlemen to be suf- ficiently acquainted with the general design of the In- stitution; but that a personal interview is exceedingly desirable, in relation to its present state, prospects, and plans; the opening field of usefulness before it, of
REV. TIIOS. n. GALLAUDET. 283
boundless extent ; the division of labor in the various departments, which may be mutually agreeable, and for the public good. They believe that the building up of this national institution, so imperiously demanded, by the exigencies of our country, and of the times in which we live, is an object in every respect worthy the attention of those wrhom they invite to the work.
" In the strong hope of a personal interview soon; further particulars will, perhaps, be unnecessary now. Any inquiries, however, on the subject, will be im- mediately answered. Please inform us, as soon as con- venient, whether we may expect to see you.
"I am, dear sir, with assurances of respect and affection, " Very truly yours,
« GOKHAM D. ABBOTT,
" Sec. Soc. D. U. K."
From Henry Dwight, Esq. to Mr. Gallaudet.
" Geneva, July 6th, 1833.
" My Dear Sir, — I have read with great pleasure and approbation, your first and second part of the Child's Book on the Soul, and your Youth's Natural Theology. Your long experience and accurate ac- quaintance with the mind, has given you a power of simplifying abstract truth, and of making it interesting to children and youth, which has been rarely, if ever, surpassed.
" It seems to me, that your qualifications for exten- sive usefulness in this department, point out to you, clearly, the duty of pursuing the course which you have so successfully commenced.
" Permit me to mention a subject, which it seems to
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me you can better present and illustrate than any per- son in the scope of my knowledge.
" It is something like a Butler's Analogy for children. It is to exhibit this truth, that the arrangements of Providence in this world are such, that each vice pro- duces its natural punishment, and that the result is the same in kind with the cause, as much as the crop is like the seed. This seems a truth of a general nature. Is a man irritable, overbearing, quarrelsome? He will find that these qualities will produce from many around him anger and reaction, which will make his life wretched. In proportion to the degree of this vicious disposition, will be the punishment ordinarily renewed in kind; until, if he uses the sword, he will perish by the sword.
" So, if the disposition is for impurity or lewdness, he chooses filth. The result is a mind most degraded and unclean ; a body most defiled and loathsome.
" So may be traced as the fruit, in kind, of our own doing, the result of every vice. Disobedience to parents, resulting in the disobedience of children. Slander in a blasted reputation. Fraud, in cheating oneself of almost everything valuable. Pride in pro- ducing constant mortification.
"So, also, the tendency of all the virtues to produce reward in kind, as love, the good will of all, tender- ness toward others, delicacy to yourself, &c.
"Perhaps you would carry the results, which you can trace with great beauty, to the last sigh of the present life, or beyond the grave, and show, that this principle reaches eternity, and must, in the nature of things, constitute much of its happiness and misery. Thus showing how it must necessarily be, that in
REV. TIIOS. H. GALLAUDET. 285
every state and stage of the existence of a spirit, con- stituted as is the human soul, that the seed which he morally sows, he shall certainly reap. I have merely touched the subject which you can expound. I have written to you, because I think the book would be interesting aud useful, from your hands, should the subject strike your mind pleasantly.
" It would gratify me much to hear from you ; but still more to have your pen thus employed, on this or some other topic, which you have the capacity of rendering so useful to a numerous and important por- tion of the community.
" With great respect, your friend,
"H. D WIGHT."
Rev. J. Van Court to Mr. Gallaudet.
u Natchez, Feb. 15th, 1837. " My very Dear Sir, — I have taken the liberty of addressing you a line in reference to a subject on which I know }'ou feel a deep interest — the religious instruction of the colored population of the south. You are aware that the instruction of the slaves must be confined very much to oral teaching. If we had a catechism adapted to the purpose, it might be exten- sively circulated, and owners of plantations might be induced to make use of it in instructing their servants, particularly the smaller ones, those between the ages of four and fourteen. Jones' Catechism has been found to be too large for general use. It might an- swer for the third in a series, but even then it would be difficult to get it into general use. "Without going into the reasons, which will be obvious to yourself, I
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would simply state what we want for the south, and add my humble but urgent request, that you will consent to make trial of your abilities to prepare it for us.
"What we want is a catechism not exceeding a hundred and fifty or two hundred questions at most, prepared in the simplest form, and embracing all the important doctrines and precepts taught in the Bible. I do not mean that the catechism is to notice every doctrinal precept of importance which the Bible teaches, as it would be impossible to do this in the limits allowed, but I wish you to select those which take the strongest hold of the mind at that early age, when the moral faculties are more matured than the mental. It would be well to bear in mind, in prepar- ing it, that it is only the first of a series, and is to be succeeded by another fuller and more minute. This will enable you, without reluctance, to leave out many things j ou might wish to put in. If you feel disposed to inquire who is to prepare the second catechism, the only answer I am able to make is, that if we like Mr. Gallaudet's first effort, we shall be apt to trouble him again. Eemember me very kindly, if you please, to Mrs. Gallaudet, and to the hospitable family on the hill. " Yery truly, yours, &c."
Mr. Frelinghuysen to Mr. Gallaudet.
" New York, Dec. 2d, 1840. " Rev. Mr. Gallaudet :
" My Dear Sir, — I duly received, your favor, with the spelling-book prepared by yourself and Mr. Hook-
EEV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 287
er, and I feel persuaded that all who examine your plan of instruction in the difficulties and anomalies of our language, will concur in the conviction that you have most happily accomplished your purpose. The anomalies in orthography are very judiciously ar- ranged to fix the attention and help the memory of the learner, and the whole work forms a practicable spelling-book, which not only the schools, but any seminary in our country may profitably study. 11 With great regard, yours truly,
" THEO. FREL1XGHUYSEN."
" Morrison Hill, China, 24th March, 1845. "My Dear Sir, — Your favor of February 16th, 1844, did not reach me till nearly a year after its date. I received it, with a copy of your ' Spelling-book ' and 1 Mother's Primer,' on the 7th of January, 1845. The ' School and Family Dictionary ' was also in the parcel. The two last mentioned works I have had and made use of in our school for about two years. My brother- in-law, Mr. David E. Bartlett, had the kindness to send me a number of copies of each, I think in 1843. The 1 Spelling-book ' I had also seen, though having but one copy I could not introduce it into the school. It is out of my power, therefore, to comply with your request, and give you my opinion of its adaptation to the wants of such a school. I can, however, speak of the other two — the primer and the dictionary. TTe have four classes, in a school of thirty -five boys, and one of them has made a fair trial of the primer. They commenced their study of the English language with
288 LIFE AND LABORS OF
it, and were kept to it until they were able to read it fluently. The consequence is, that they have acquired the art of reading more readily and accurately than those who were, for the want of such a book, put upon the old course of learning to read. The remarks you have made in the preface to this little book, in refer- ence to the absurdity of teaching children to read by letters, are doubly true when considered in relation to a school like this.
" The older pupils in the school each have a copy of the dictionary, and think much of it. I dare say it needs no commendation among those who have tried it. I will only say that, so far as it goes, it is precisely what we require in our school. I could wish that you would extend it to about twice its present size, for the sake of those who are, like myself, laboring to teach English' to 'foreigners. The enlargement would not make it less, but more useful in the United States. My boys are delighted when they can find their hard words explained in it. But their knowledge of Eng- lish is so limited, that they have to suffer frequent disappointments.
" I am greatly encouraged in the work of teaching, by the character and attainments of our pupils, as well as by the interest that the enterprise awakens among some of the foreigners in China. Most of them are too much engrossed in business to think of any thing else long or much. There are some noble exceptions. God has blessed us hitherto beyond all that I- expected when we came to this country. Pray for these youth, my dear sir, that they may be as lights in the midst of the thick darkness around them — lights shining by the reflected rays of the Sun of righteousness. My
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 289
dear wife bids me say that she has known you from her childhood, and that she desires her kindest remem- brances to Mrs. Gallaudet and yourself. If you find time to drop me a line now and then, I shall feel happy in being thus remembered. " And believe me, my dear sir, to be, " Yours very truly,
« Rev. T. H. Gallaudet. " S. R. BROWN.
* P. S. I wanted, in the course of my letter, to say how much I owe, for the little aptness to teach that I possess, to the instruction of the deaf and dumb in former years. It has been of use to me in many ways, and I wish I could have an assistant and associate who has had experience in the same school. Have you not a son to spare by and by ? "
Dr. A. A. Gould to Mr. Gallaudet.
'; Boston, May 7th, 1836. " Respected Sir, — It is the purpose of the Board of Primary Schools in this city, to introduce the study of the principles of ethics into those schools. We are therefore in need of some manual to guide in the in- struction. The scholars, as you are perhaps aware, are between the ages of four and seven years, and of course their instruction in morals will be of the most elementary character. We are not yet fully deter- mined upon a plan ; but that which seems most de- sirable is, that a book of perhaps one hundred and twenty 16mo pages should be written or compiled, consisting of narratives involving some principle of 13
290 LIFE AND LABOES OF
ethics, with questions appended to each exercise, so that the book shall answer for a class reading book, as well as for recitations.
" Eev. Jacob Abbot commenced a book for us on this plan ; but his health failing, he was obliged to abandon it. He, however, offers to put his papers into the hands of any person who may undertake such a work. And now, sir, on the suggestion of the Eev. Dr. Wayland, I am desired, by the Board, to request you to undertake this work for us. We believe it to be a difficult, a very difficult thing, to prepare a manual on this subject, from which pupils shall learn, and teachers of various turns of mind shall be able to teach successfully. But we have every confidence that you would be able to do all we have any right to expect from any one.
" Please inform us soon if there is any prospect that you may be able to attempt the work. You will get a general idea of what we want from the above. If you desire further particulars as to the plan and com- pensation, we shall be happy to give them. Mr. Ab- bot's intention was to receive what he could get by contract with his own bookseller, we merely agreeing to adopt the work.
" With much respect, I am, your ob't serv't, " AUGUSTUS A. GOULD, M. D.
" For the Board of Primary Schools."
W. Ropes to Rev. Mr. Gallaudet.
" London, August 3rd, 1840. "My Dear Sir, — The very slight acquaintance which I had with you when you were at the institu-
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 291
tion in Connecticut, will, I trust, be a sufficient warrant for my addressing you on the present occasion. The enclosed letter from my son to you, will, I trust, be most gratifying to you. By it you will see that already one of your interesting works has been trans- lated into the language of an immense empire, where its power of being useful is almost boundless, and I have no doubt that new editions will soon be called for, and that it will find its way among that interesting people, even to the walls of China.
"I send to Mr. Hallock to day extracts of several reviews, published in Eussia, on your book, as well as interesting anecdotes showing the blessing attending our tract cause. I am, dear sir, very truly and respectfully yours, « W. ROPES."
" Eev. Sir, — Though personally unknown to you, I take the liberty to address you a few lines, believing that the news I have to communicate will be to you as pleasing, as it will doubtless appear strange, unless it have already reached you through some other channel. The object of these few lines, is to accom- pany a copy of the Eussian translation of your ' Child's Book of Natural Theology,' of which 2,000 copies have been published this year in St. Petersburgh. Having spent much time in the preparation of this work for the press, I have naturally a lively interest in its success, and shall, with pleasure, communicate to you a few particulars respecting it. Oar wish has been to make the book altogether a national one, the name of the author, and the fact of its being a trans- lation, have, therefore, not been mentioned; and of the three periodicals which have reviewed the work
292 LIFE AXD LABORS OF
not one seems to have suspected, that it was not original. A school director in the south, of Russia, (above one thousand miles off from us,) has already or- dered a small quantity, probably for his schools, and there can be no doubt that others will follow his ex- ample soon.
" I might add much upon the pleasure it must give you, to be thus made an instrument of usefulness, (Grod grant it may be great and lasting !) to a numer- ous people of a strange speech, many thousand miles removed from you ; but believing that your own reflections will be far better than anything I can suggest, I would simply congratulate you, dear sir, (for I feel that I have a sort of personal acquaintance with you,) that }tou have such a subject of pleasing reflection, and would hope and pray, that you may long be spared to enrich the libraries of the young, with many more such books as those you have written.
" You will, I doubt not, be gratified to know that your 'Life of Jonah,' and 'Life of Josiah,' are already translated into Russ, and I hope will this year be pre- pared for the press.
" In conclusion I will transcribe from the reviews I have spoken of, the remarks made directly relating to the book itself.
" ' It remains for us only to thank them, (the pub- lishers,) for a new, exceedingly useful, and interesting publication for children. In this little work, which is adorned with twenty-eight wood cuts, a mother ex- plains to her son various phenomena and mysteries of nature, and does it simply and sensibly, always present- ing the subject in the most interesting point of view. At the foundation of all lies moral and religious prin-
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 293
ciple. "We recommend this book to parents and instructors, as one of the best of its kind.'
'"We recommend to parents and instructors, a very useful and interesting book for children, pub- lished lately in St. Petersburgh, under the title of " Conversations upon Nature." It is ornamented with twenty-eight wood-cuts.'
" ' The author of this book, has taken up a very good idea, to make children acquainted with nature by means of dialogues, into which are introduced, in proper places, wood-cuts, representing the subjects spoken of and very well executed.
" ' The execution of the work fully comes up to its good design,' &c.
" I remain, my dear sir, with much respect, yours
sincerely,
"JOSEPH S. ROPES."
" St. Petersburgh, June 22— July 4, 1840."
The following letter from the King of Siam to Mr. Gallaudet, verbatim et literatim, will, we are sure, be read with more interest in his very broken English, than in any revision or correction that might have been made :
" City of Bangkok, Siam, August 30th, 1848. " To the Eev. Mr. T. H. Gallaudet, the author of several small books for children ; Class Book of Natural Theology, con- cerning the human soul ; History of Joseph, &c; resident of Hartford Connecticut, IT. S. A.
" Sir, — Having perceived your skill and contriv- ances effects, in some of the books of which you were author, prepared for child and youth, viz., Science of Human Soul, Natural Theology (conversations of Mrs.
294 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Stanhope and her son Kobert), History of Joseph, and small English dictionary, that contains plain examples of every word, and received also your pious qualities from of the American missionaries who live in this country and speak of you, I was very glad to write you, with much more satisfication and gratitude to you, as I thought and imaged that I am alike your pupil on your absence, because I have known and remembered several English words from reading some the foresaid books, of which your authority was entitled on first pages, and which some of missionaries and English merchants have brought here for themselves, and were borrowed by myself from them, who had lent me to read a few days, that they have limited with. I was, therefore, sorry that I could not learn much more les- sons from your stilees, which were easily to be under- stood for me, and delightful and useful to me, as I am just studying this language about three years indeed.
"I was therefore brave to write to you, asking you for some certain books, which you may image or pre- sume that suitable to me, for easily reading ; every book of which you were author, and which were print- ed, and still remained some at your hand, or every name and subjects of every idiom's book that you may denote to me in your answer.
u I hope very surely that you will be graceful to me, reading this my manuscript, though I am your heathen, and was not acquainted with you at all.
11 1 have now but one of books which you have pre- pared. It is story of Joseph. It was bestowed to me by a lady of Captain Daniel Brown, who is my affec- tionate friend. I please much morely the small diction- ary that contain example of every word, but I could
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 295
not procure for myself in this country and neighboring states. Please reply me through care of some of the American missionaries who are living in our country, and with whom you acquainted. I shall pay to them for the books which you mentioned their price, and sent me through here, American missionaries. Almost every one of them acquainted with me very exactly. Please pardon me if I mistake by unproper word, and sentence and overlook if my this letter were written ungrammatical, as I am just learning this language indeed.
" I have the honour to be,
Your friend, &c,
" THE PRIXCE T. Y. CHAUFA MONG KUT,
" One of high Buddhist priests.
" P.S. — Please address me in your answer thus : 'To his Royal Highness the Prince T. Y. Chaufa Mong Kut, of Bangkok, Siam,' as I am known by such manner of this direction to most of foreigners who use Euglish, that your letter would be handed to me soon.
"T. Y. M."
Mr. Gallaudefs Answer.
" City of Hartford, State of Connecticut, U. S. A., October 10th, 1848. " To his Royal Highness Prince Chou-Fah-Yai Mong Kut.
" Sir,— The Kev. D. B. Bradley, M. D., one of the Christian missionaries in Bangkok, tells me that you have, in a letter to him, expressed your satisfaction in having read some books of which I am the author, and that you would be pleased to accept others should they be sent to you. In this I feel highly honored, by a
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person so intelligent and distinguished as yourself. I send by him, therefore, a few volumes, of most of which I am the author, and of which I beg your acceptance.
" They are chiefly on religious subjects, and exhibit the principles and precepts of the religion of Jesus Christ, in which I most devoutly believe, for I find evidence which perfectly satisfies me that the Bible, which contains this religion, is a revelation from God. I find, too, that the Savior whom it offers for our acceptance, is just such a Savior as the erring and sin- ful beings of the whole human family need.
11 How can we obtain the pardon of our sins, but through the atoning sacrifice which this divine Savior made when he died on the cross ? How else can we be restored to the favor of God, whom we have so much offended by our transgressions of his most holy, just, and good laws ? How else can we secure an im- mortal existence of purity and blessedness beyond the grave ? Is the Bible, which tells us of this only way of salvation, truly a revelation from God ? If it is, then no other system of religion, as a system, can he true ; for they all differ from the Bible, and are opposed to it in many essential things.
" May I venture to beg of you to examine and care- fully reflect upon this great question? To read the volumes, "The Bible not of Man," and "Bogue's Essay," which I send you ? To read the Bible itself, more particularly the New Testament, which contains an ac- count of the life, the miracles, the teachings, the doings, the sufferings, and the death of Jesus Christ, and shows why he came into our world ? In attending to this great subject, we need to pray to the Father of our spirits, to open our minds to the discovery of the Truth,
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 297
and our hearts to the reception, love, and obedience of the Truth. I pray that his Holy Spirit may be your teacher, guide, sanctifier and comforter.
" Should you find leisure to let me know that the books have reached you in safety, and what you think of them, it would be a favor conferred on " Yours, with sincere respect,
" T. H. GALLAUDET.
" P. S. — I cannot but hope that 'The Practical Spelling Book,' will aid you, by its peculiar system of classification, and its index, in overcoming (if you have not already overcome them), the difficulties attending the orthography of the English language, and that the little dictionary, even, will not be without some use."
Mr. Gallaudet was exceedingly desirous of seeing the Bible introduced and studied as a classic in our col- leges and other seminaries of a higher order. Know- ins; how essential it was to enlist men of high stand- ing and wide influence throughout the country in favor of it, he addressed letters to such as he thought would approve of this new branch of a public educa- tion, and, as he hoped, would be ready to recom- mend it. Two of their answers lie before me, and as they were from Christian laymen of the highest stand- ing in their respective states, they are here inserted. These letters do honor to the heads and hearts of those illustrious ornaments of their profession.
Hon. Roger M. Sherman to Mr. Gallaudet.
"Fairfield, Xov. 2,1830. " My Dear Sir, — It seems to me evincive of the darkness of this enlightened age, that it should be 13*
298 LIFE AND LABOES OF
made a question whether, in the higher institutions for education, a place should be allotted for teaching those communications which have been made to the human mind by its great Author, with a direct view to its moral and intellectual elevation. As ' the perversion of the best things converts them to the worst,' so the Scriptures have been made the most powerful engine of mental degradation. Man was a nobler being in the classic ages of Greece and Eome, than during the dark centuries of religious superstition and bigotry. Hence the Bible, if I may so speak, has lost its popu- larity, and the friends of education are apprehensive it may be the cause of what once, in so appalling a degree, it was made the instrument. And, indeed, when a university is contemplated, in which it is proposed to blend the adherents of all religious denominations, be- tween some of whom there exists so much hostility, it is very difficult to devise a plan in which their mutual jealousies can be allayed. There is, however, in the Bible, an immense region, entirely without the limits of polemic theology, abounding in intel- lectual, moral and celestial treasures, which are valued and admired by all in proportion as they are known. This field is sufficiently spacious for a most useful professorship, to which every sectarian peculiarity should be strictly inhibited. The lecturer, under the superin- tendence of a proper board, and guarded by the keen and jealous vigilance of his pupils, would be easily withheld from the forbidden grounds. The friendly cooperation of various religious sects for the advance- ment of public and benevolent objects, which has dis- tinguished the present age, renders such an establish- ment much more feasible than it would have been half
REV. TIIOS. H. GALLAUDET. 299
a century ago. I believe it would contribute more, in a hundred years to come, to the melioration of the human character, and the advancement of public and individual interests, than any other of the higher branches of education.
" I have given these general opinions in compliance with the request in your friendly letter ; but the re- spectable committee, with whom you are associated, are so much more competent than I am to judge correctly of this subject, that your request must be my apology for having said anything at all.
" Yours, with very sincere esteem,
" ROGER M. SHERMAN. " Rev. Mr. Gallaudet."
Wm. Wirt to Mr. Gallaudet.
" Baltimore, Nov. 1, 1830. " Sir, — I am just honored with your letter ^of the 23rd ult., from New York. It has found me immersed in professional business, which will hold me engaged without intermission till next August. I am happy to find this interesting topic in such good hands, and that the determination is formed to give it a thorough and decisive examination. The subject is too large for my time and talents. It is not, indeed, entirely new to me, having been constrained to think of it very often by the unskillful and irreverent manner in which I have seen the sacred volume handled in our primary schools. It is put into the hands of children who are yet contending with the difficulties of learning to read, who have no understanding of the meaning of what they are reading, and are so often chastised for their
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blunders, that they contract an aversion to the book itself, and are never afterwards disposed to open it of their own accord. Until our primary schools are all supplied with patient, enlightened, skillful and pious teachers, a consummation rather to be wished than ex- pected, that book ought, in my opinion, to be kept from the schools. Children ought, indeed, to be initi- ated in the principles of our holy religion as soon as they are capable of receiving them, but the reading of that book, as it is commonly read in schools, is not the mode of doing it.
" The study of the Bible, ' as a classic,' is, I take it for granted, contemplated for young men at a mature age, and this I should highly approve, under proper direction ; for, in the first place, as it is the Book of Life, a thorough knowledge of its contents is indis- pensable, whereas, in truth, there is not one in a thous- and among us who has ever read the Bible throughout. This is deplorable, and must be remedied ; nor do I see any better remedy than that which I understand you to propose. Every man, whatever may be his in- tended calling in life, is vitally and eternally interested in the thorough understanding of that book, whereas the common impression seems to be that it is the busi- ness only of the clergy to understand it and teach it. This is a fundamental error in our education which must be corrected, and I think that you are in the pro- per course to apply the corrective. You would, I pre- sume, make it an indispensible part of the collegiate course, and the sine qua non to a degree, whatever may be the intended profession of the student. For a more accurate knowledge of the contents of the book, it is certainly desirable to understand the original language
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. SOI
in which it is written, and it is said that a sufficient knowledge of that language in which the Old Testament is written is a matter of easy attainment — not a mastery of it, but a sufficient knowledge to test the accuracy of the translation. If this be so, it is worth the time and money that will be bestowed on it, and would, with great propriety, enter into a collegiate course. A knowledge of the cognate languages, the Persic, Arabic, &c, would consume more time than a student could spare from other studies, and, I presume, is not essential to a knowledge of the Bible, which I understand to have been written, with the exception of a few phrases, in the Hebrew. But as our translation of the Old Testament is admitted, I believe, to be generally cor- rect, I do not perceive that a knowledge of Hebrew is indispensable to the great object that you have in view. The original language of the New Testament is now so established a part of education in all colleges, that I presume no question is made of the propriety of con- tinuing that.
"But, in the next place, a dry study of the Bible, with a view to its contents, is not, I presume, the only object in contemplation ; still less do I suppose that it is to be studied as a matter of taste only. It is, indeed, eminently fitted, by the simplicity, beauty and su- blimity that pervade it, for the cultivation of a correct taste — and this will fall in, very properly, as incidental to the study ; but the object, I think, should be still higher and holier. Considered as the Word of God, and the Book of Life, it should be handled with habitu- al reverence, and every student should be taught so to regard and feel it.
" Should not the exegetic method of the German
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universities be applied to the study of this book, so far as that method is applicable and practicable ?
" Would it not be proper to connect with the study of the sacred volume some such compilation as that of ' Home's Introduction ? ' It gives a condensed and powerful view of the evidences of the authenticity both of the Old and New Testaments, and will arm the stu- dent against those infidel objections which he will but be too apt to encounter in his journeys through life. I should consider the concomitant study of some such work as a most powerful auxiliary to the study of the Bible. The support which the Christian system de- rives from the prophecies that foretold it, and the liv- ing fulfillment of the prophecy of Moses with regard to the dispersion of the Jews, render it extremely interest- ing to the student to know the genuineness of the pro- phecies themselves, and this is irresistibly vouched by the mode in which they were preserved, read openly, and transmitted for so many centuries before the com- ing of the Savior, by the Jews themselves, the enemies of his religion, and who would, therefore, not be the persons to fabricate evidence in support of it. I men- tion this as one instance of the advantages to be de- rived from preceding the study of the Scriptures by some such work as Home's. The first volume of his Introduction is, perhaps, all that is necessary on this subject, and that could be mastered in a week or ten days. It connects the Old and New Testaments to- gether in a very interesting manner ; presents the whole scheme most impressively, embodies the evi- dence, internal and external, with great power, and repels the leading objections of infidels with a candor and force that form an impregnable fortress around
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 303
the rock of our hope. Home's work is, to be sure, only a compilation, but it condenses into a small compass the power of many works which a young man would never read, and brings them easily within the reach of every mind. With such a preparation, a student will advance to the study of his Bible with a confidence and reverence which it is in vain to expect without it. And I am satisfied that some such preparation is in- dispensable to the happy accomplishment of the great object you have in view. A young man ought not to be put to study the Bible as he would a heathen classic, merely for its facts, its principles, or its beauties. He should be taught to approach it with awe, and to re- gard it as it is, the Book of Life to the believer, but of death to the infidel. Of course there ought to be a separate professor for this study ; one who is a master of the whole subject, and of all the collateral learning which belongs to it ; one who will be prepared to answer any cavil, and to point out any beauty. In- deed, I should think it is well worth a course of lectures from such a professor. In the city of Washing- ton, a clergyman formed a class of }roung ladies for the study of the Jewish antiquities only, and rendered it extremely attractive and interesting to them all. A course of lectures on the Bible, dividing it into branches, historical, prophetical, doctrinal, and discuss- ing its evidences, as wrell as indicating its beauties, might be rendered a most beautiful and a most instruct- ive course in the hands of a devout man of genius. Such a course of lectures, interspersed with occasional examinations, would, I think, be the most radical and effective mode of studying it classically. It would, indeed, take time to do this well, but it is surely better
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worth the time than any other branch of human learn- ing ; and, besides, the course need not be rendered so laborious and exclusive as it would necessarily be for theological students designed for the Church. Under proper regulations, it would form a fine relief from other studies, and answer all the purposes you have in view. Every Christian father and mother would un- questionably be delighted to have their children thus instructed, and I have no doubt one consequence of it would be our having many more efficient hands for that vineyard which is now so woefully destitute of skillful hands to dress it.
" The book, I think, should be taught on a great plan and with great views, in which sectarian princi- ples should not be permitted to mingle. Those ques- tions of doctrine and discipline which have so divided the Christian world, to the great reproach of the Church, ought to be kept out of view as much as pos- sible. In all the fundamental points, all the churches agree. They all agree that there is no salvation but through the merits of the Redeemer, and that faith which is evidenced by a pious life. The course of study should be such as parents of every Christian de- nomination would approve ; and they would all approve such a course of study as would increase our knowl- edge and reverence for the Bible, and make the rising generation Christians in practice as well as faith.
" You perceive that I am merely throwing out such hints and views as have struck my own mind, in the midst of my professional occupations. My duties are of such a character as to render it impossible for me to offer a digested scheme, or even to prepare an essay. It is very possible that I may have even mistaken your
KEV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 305
object; but I feel the importance of the subject, and have thought it better to hazard these hasty reflections than to neglect your letter altogether.
"I beg you to accept them, such as they are, as an imperfect evidence of the hearty good will which I bear to your subject, and of the respect with which "I remain, sir,
11 Your obedient servant, " Rev. T. H. Gallaudet." " WILLIAM WIRT.
The following paper, without date, contains valuable suggestions.
" How does a boy learn Latin ? He might by hearing it spoken ; but he has to learn it through the medium of a translation. He is put to the study of the dead languages, as soon as he becomes acquainted with the colloquial part of his mother tongue. He should know his mother tongue first, if pursuing a classical education. But why should all our youth be compelled to study Latin and Greek thus ? The circumstances of the parent may not permit ; the pe- culiar taste and habits of the boy may not justify it ; his future pursuits in life may not require it. Some have a strong passion for the sciences. In our country, particularly, the application of the principles of science to the useful arts and the comforts, the conveniences and luxuries of life, are manifest. Eare talents in this department are continually developing themselves. Shall such not have the privilege of deriving an edu- cation, such as will enlarge their minds, be accommo- dated to their peculiar tastes and predilections, and qualify them preeminently as men of science, if not of
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literature so called, to do honor to themselves and their country, and to contribute their proportion of effort to promote the welfare of their fellow-men ? At any rate, the experiment is worth making a fair trial of, what progress an intelligent mind might make in Eng- lish literature, and a perfect command of the English lan- guage. Why is it that we meet with so many men in the ordinary walks of life, who, without knowing Latin and Greek, use the English language with great force, precision, and elegance, while we find that it is sometimes more, and much more, than the study of the dead languages, which is necessary to enable a youth to write English composition well, and to speak with force and eloquence. I wish to be understood, I do not mean to decry the classics ; let them be pur- sued in our colleges ; but let us have one where those of a scientific turn may get a liberal education."
Mr. Gallaudet never claimed any particular ac- quaintance with the Muses. Though he often gazed with admiration on the shining pinnacle of Parnassus, he never thought of attempting to climb there. He had other toils below, which left him little time for any such pleasure excursions, and which he thought more important. The most indulgence he allowed himself, was occasionally to stroll about the base of the mountain, and gather a few leaves and wild flowers for his scrap book. Nevertheless, some of his fugitive pieces, written chiefly quite early in life, show that he was not quite destitute of poetic genius, which, had it been cultivated, might have flowered out and ripened into rich clusters.
From the many short effusions which have come
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 807
into my hands, I select the following as specimens, though not more worthy than many others of a place in this volume.
NIGHT.
"While 'long the path of distant years
I stretch an aching eye, Thorny to me each step appears
Of sad futurity.
I see no verdant bowers of ease,
No shades of calm repose, No cooling streams of life, nor trees
Where fruit of Eden grows.
But all is one dark, dreary waste, O'ercast with midnight gloom ;
And through it, sorrowing, I haste Down to the silent tomb.
0 Thou, who, while on earth, did'st know
The keenest pangs of grief, By all thy agony of woe,
I pray thee send relief!
The broken reed, 0 ! let it live, That droops its head so low ;
The smoking flax again revive, And bid its embers glow.
Then will I strive the path to tread, Thy feet have trod before ;
And, thorny though it be, to dread Its toilsome length no more.
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MORNING.
Unfading source of endless joy, My Heavenly Father, and my friend !
O ! may thy love my thoughts employ, To thee my best affections tend.
When, on the page of memory, The past with grateful heart I trace,
In every providence I see
Sweet testimonials of thy grace.
Goodly my heritage has been,
Most pleasantly have fall'n my lines ;
And still, in every passing scene,
Thy kindness, gracious Father, shines.
What though thy chast'ning hand has laid
Affliction on my feeble frame : Still let my mind on thee be stayed, Still let me bless thy holy name.
For if I share my Father's love,
(How dear that humble hope to me !)
Then will thy chast'nmgs kindly prove, That thus I am allied to thee.
O, teach me, then, to bear the rod !
Nor let one murm'ring thought arise : My soul ! submissive be to God,
Who thus his children purifies.
REV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 309
A MARRIAGE HYMN.
0 Thou, who once a bidden guest
Did'st kindly condescend to be, And, with thy welcome presence, blessed
The marriage-feast in Galilee ;
This festive scene, these nuptial rites, Deign with thy presence, too, to crown ;
And, on the pair whom love unites, Shed thy best blessings largely down.
Be thou their guardian, guide, and friend,
^Vhile through life's devious paths they roam ;
And still let all their footsteps tend Towards Heaven, their safe and lasting home.
In sorrow, let each one impart Sweet solace to the other's breast ;
And soothe the anguish of the heart, And calm the troubled thoughts to rest.
In joy, when all around them smiles
Like Eden's bright and beauteous bowers,
And Hope's enchanting view beguiles (If such must be) their heavier hours —
Let their warm gratitude arise, Free, from the altar of their hearts,
And waft its incense to the skies, To Him who every good imparts.
To his delightful service given,
Be their whole soul, and strength, and mind ; Till, ripened by his grace for heaven,
In endless union they are joined.
310 LIFE AND LABORS OF
(Composed to be sung at our family prayers, on the evening of Saturday, July 11th, 1847.
What a happy, happy meeting !
Father, mother, children here ; Each the other gladly greeting,
All, again, at home so dear !
Gratitude each bosom swelling, For our mercies' ceaseless flow ;
Mem'ry her fond story telling, Since we met, a year ago !
All, our Heavenly Father praising, Praising with a hopeful heart ;
To him our thanksgiving raising, Who has kept us while apart.
On him still our faith depending, For each need, till life is o'er,
And, all separation ending, Then to meet, and part no more
God of mercy ! spare us, spare us, Till we ripe for Heaven shall be ;
Till thy grace, through Christ, prepare us Ever there to dwell with thee !
There ! 0, what a happy meeting !
Full of peace, and joy, and love ! Each the other gladly greeting,
All, again, at home above !
EEV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 311
When in Paris, in 1816, one Sabbath, I was leaving the Protestant Church of the Oratoire, after service, I fell into con- versation with a young Englishman in the crowd, for a few minutes, which occasioned the following :
Stkanger ! I know thee not by name,
And yet my heart is knit to thine ; Our Heavenly Father is the same,
And thy Eedeemer, too, is mine.
Stranger ! I read it in thine eye,
And in thy accents meek and mild, And in thy words of charity,
That God has chosen thee his child.
The moment was a fleeting one, In which we felt the Christian tie,
But while these eyes behold the sun, Sacred shall be its memory.
Perchance, beyond this world of care, God may permit our souls to meet,
And in the realms of bliss to share Eemembrance of an hour so sweet.
Meanwhile, his guardian care attend Thy pilgrimage, where e'er it be ;
The blessings of his grace descend Into thy bosom constantly.
312 LIFE AND LABORS OF
CHRISTIAN HOPE.
Written on reading a beautiful poem, but deficient in the doctrines of the Gospel
Sweet Harp of Hope, whose melodies delight Th' enraptured ear like song of seraphim ;
When thou dost sing the parting spirit's flight, How solemn and sublime thy requiem hymn !
But, ah ! one heavenly strain thou wantest still, And has that strain ne'er won thy master's heart ?
Heard from the sacred top of Zion's hill, Apollo's lute such notes could ne'er impart.
It warbled never from Parnassus' height,
Nor to the Roman lyre its music lent ; Judea's shepherds, tending flocks by night,
First heard its sweet and soothing ravishment.
' Twas sung by angels, and it told of One "Who came from Heaven our sinful world to bless :
Th' Almighty Father's everlasting Son, Jesus, the Savior, man of lowliness.
This strain, though faintly caught and feebly sung
In pealing anthem, or in softer psalm, Hath oft been heard from rapt devotion's tongue
Shedding o'er pious breasts a holy calm.
And round th' Eternal's light-encircled throne,
Endless shall rise its choral symphony, From golden harps of Heaven-instructed tone,
And sweetest voice of angel minstrelsy.
Such strain, enchanting harp ! thou wantest still ;
0 ! were thy master taught its rapturous note, Hope's brightest visions would his bosom fill,
And sweeter music through his numbers float.
EEV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 313
Then when he sung of life's expiring day, How Hope alone can cheer it, Faith illume ;
That Hope would rest on Christ, its only stay, That Faith to Heaven look upward from his tomb.
TO MIRTH.
Mirth, thou dost cost me much ; For when thy chaplet round my brow I weave, Full of gay flowers and blithesome buds of joy, A momentary fragrance yielding, soon My temple feels their thorns, keen-piercing ; soon Alone the thorns remain, the flowers so gay Quick wither, and the buds that promise made, Deceitful, of perpetual blossoming, Mock, as they droop their dying heads, the hand That was so idle as to gather them.
The thorns alone remain, a painful crown, Unlike the one of cruel mockery, Which He once meekly bore — the Man of Sorrows. That crown pressed sore upon his head, and marred, Euthless, his comely face, with its own blood ; But conscience shrunk not from the pangs it made, Nor felt them aught : for innocence and peace Within his holy breast held reign triumphant. But, ah ! the crown thou weavest, Mirth, hath thorns That pierce the soul, and make the conscience bleed. Thy heedless votary, I've sometimes borne it, And dizzy grew, as played before my eyes Its shifting hues of thousand colors bright, Fast fading, like the rainbow's melting form, To nothingness.
Mirth, thou dost cost me much, And I would fain part with thee ; while I woo, Occasional, at well-befitting times, 14
314 LIFE AND LABORS OF
And hours discreet of relaxation due, Thee, chaster, milder sister, Cheerfulness, Whose easy smile, and placid brow, and look Of sober joy, around the social hearth, Shed bright tranquillity ; while now and then, In somewhat graver mood, though not austere, A word thou dropp'st, remembrance to revive, Of brighter, happier scenes beyond the grave, Lest we too much forget them, and to show The unthinking that thou canst walk, hand in hand, With those who bend their faces heavenward, And strew some flowers, remains of Paradise, To cheer their pathway upward to the skies.
ON THE DEATH OF A FRIEND.
(LEVERETT H. TRUMBULL, SON OF JUDGE TRUMBULL.)
A rose expanding to the spring,
Its brightest tints unblown, Was by the gale's relentless wing
Upon the cold earth strown.
Oh ! had the gale passed gentler by, And spared this opening rose,
' Twould soon have burst upon the eye The fairest flower that blows.
Yet shall mild zephyrs stealing where Its leaves in sad dispersion lie,
Long waft its sweets upon the air, And thus preserve its memory.
REV. TIIOS. II. GALLAUDET. 315
THE RIVAL ROSES.
A FABLE.
' Mid garden flowers of choicest hue
A tree of lovely roses grew ;
Itself more fair than all the rest,
"Was by the gardener caressed.
From day's first dawning to its close,
Each opening bud and blooming rose
The kindness of his fostering care,
And equal love, alike did share ;
While Heaven, too, propitious smiled
Upon the gard'ner's favorite child.
Sol cheered it with his genial ray ;
Soft showers would love to pass that way ;
The cloud bestowed its friendly shade ;
And zephyrs gently round it played.
Fair and more fair the rose-tree grew,
And blessed the gard'ner's frequent view.
One day, as he admiring stood,
Each rose its sweetest graces showed ;
Each with the other seemed to vie,
And court their faithful guardian's eye.
And as he gazed he seemed to hear
A mingled sound of voices near.
He listens, and his wonder grows,
"While speaks aloud each blooming rose.
" On me thy kindest look bestow,
For see how beauteous I grow ;
What glowing tints my leaves o'erspread,
How choice the sweet peufume they shed.
Not one among my sisters dare
With me iD loveliness compare.
See ! how they droop and blush to own
Myself entitled to the throne."
" Say, queen of flowers, by right I claim
My due preeminence of fame."
316 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Thus each, a rival of the rest, Itself deemed fairest, sweetest, best. The gard'ner, fill'd with grief, replied : " Cease, thus, to show a foolish pride, Ye children of a constant care, Who equally my fondness share. Your parent stock my labor reared, And when your infant buds appeared, Their growth was cherished still by me, With late and early industry. Kind Heaven deigned my care to crown And shed its choicest influence down. For aught you have of sweet and fair, To Him, whose providential care Forgets not e'en the floweret small, You stand indebted for it all. What, if some one more fair appears, And richer tints of beauty wears, And round a sweeter fragrance throws, Than doth its neighboring sister rose ? This difference Heaven itself bestows. Blush, then, at such vain rivalry, And others' merits learn to see — To see with joy that others share Heaven's equal influence and care. Thus shall a modest loveliness Each rose with sweeter graces dress. Each borrow beauty from the rest, And in the general joy be blest."
IMITATED FROM COLLINS.
How sleep the good, who sink to rest With their Redeemer's favor blest : When dawns the day, by seers of old, In sacred prophecy foretold, They then shall burst their humble sod, And rise to meet their Savior God.
REV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 317
To seats of bliss, by angel-tongue,
With rapture is their welcome sung : And at their tomb, when evening gray Hallows the hour of closing day, Shall Faith and Hope a while repair, To dwell with weeping Friendship there.
It is a touching circumstance that this effusion from the pen of the Rev. Mr. Gallaudet, should have been adapted to the mournful music of a dirge, at the funeral obsequies with which the City of Hartford deplored its loss, and paid a tribute of honor to his memory.
The fear that I may be thought to invade the sacred privacy of domestic life, will lead me to omit a large part of the correspondence between Mr. Gallaudet and his family, and the whole of that which passed between him and his beloved wife ; but I trust I shall be pardoned, if from the many letters which he wrote to his children, I select the following, and bring them together, as presenting in one view the yearnings of an affectionate Christian father over his rising offspring.
To his son Thomas.
" Hartford, Sept. 11th, 1843.
" My Dear Sox, — Your present location and pros- pects, as described in your late letter, are highly gratifying to us. May the Spirit of wisdom and grace guide you into an intelligent, faithful, and successful discharge of your duties.
"You speak of dull scholars. Let them have a double share of your sympathy and attention. Teach- ers— I speak from experience — are much too apt to
318 LIFE AND LABORS OF
bestow both, in a disproportionate and marked degree,
upon the brilliant. To cultivate the powers of the
latter is the most interesting ; to encourage and bring
forward the really stupid the most benevolent. It is
an exercise of the self-denial which the Gospel enjoins.
You have precious immortal souls under your care.
O, strive by prayer, by precept, and example, to lead
all within the reach of your influence, to Christ.
" Remember me, remember us all in your prayers.
Our very kind regards to Mrs. Peet, to Miss Dudley,
and the other members of your family. The Lord
guide and bless you.
" From your affectionate father,
"T. H. G."
To the same.
" Hartford, Nov. 29th, 1844. " My Dear Son, — You letter by Mr. Bartlett was, in its announcement of one fact, a great disappoint- ment to us; while we felt that disappointment the more deeply, as we assembled round the family board and found you the only one missing on the sacred festivity of yesterday. Ah ! it is melancholy and in- structive to look forward to the time when the stern destroyer will make one and another place vacant, till the whole group will be dissolved. Let us all see to it that we are prepared to reassemble at a more general and joyous feast in the Heavens. Shall one be missing there, if our prayers, our example, with its salutary influence; our conversation, with its winning attrac- tions; our correspondence, with its earnest monitory suggestions ; our efforts of Christian zeal and prudence,
REV. TliOS. n. GALLAUDET. 319
can prevent it? What a fearful responsibility rests upon those of a family who publicly profess to be the followers of Christ, when they see those around them, to whom they are bound by the tenderest ties, giving no satisfactory evidence of an interest in the great salvation. It should temper even the joyousness of youth, and leave some occasions, at least, for the affec- tionate urgency of solemn expostulation. The Lord guide, defend; keep and bless you, my dear son. "Your — as he always has been and ever will be —
" Affectionate father,
"T. H. G."
To the same.
" Hartford, Feb. 4th, 1845.
" My Dear Son, — I thank you for yours of Janu- ary 27th, with the extracts, in substance, from Mr. Day's report, which, however, I did not receive till I returned from Boston. The family are greatly obliged to you for your late kind letters. They will write soon. E. wrote the following prayer, strictly his own, at my request. He is a lovely boy. Oh, pray that he may be an early, faithful and successful follower of Christ, and serve him in the Gospel ministry.
" ' O Lord, we thank thee for the light of another Sabbath morning, and for the comforts of the past week. We pray thee, 0 Lord, to wash away our sins in the blood of Jesus Christ, and give us new hearts. We pray thee bless the one of the family who is absent from us. For Christ's sake. Amen.'
" Look upward. Be careful, be watchful ; guard against your peculiar temptations and easily besetting sins ; ' avoid the appearance of evil ; ' be heavenly-
320 LIFE AND LABORS OF
minded. Follow Christ ; devote yourself more entirely to his service ; strive to win souls to him. May his grace ever be with you, my dear son.
"Your affectionate father, «T. H. G."
To his daughter Elizabeth.
" Hartford, Nov. 22d, 1845.
1 My Dear Daughter, — I have been trying, and trying, and trying, for some time past, to find a leisure hour to sit down quietly and write you. But many and increasing cares have prevented. I wrote your dear husband about a week ago, and that, I suppose, is pretty much the same as writing to you. So you must not think that I forget you. No ; I think of you and Thomas a great deal, and pray for you both daily, that God would bless you and shed down his holy spirit upon you, and lead you both to be the sincere and faithful followers of his Son our Savior. Let us never forget that it is only by repentance for our sios, and faith in Christ, proved to be true by our love and obedience to God, that we can hope to enjoy his favor in this world, and be admitted to Heaven hereafter. It is very unwise and dangerous to delay attending to the concerns of the soul. Sickness may come, death may come, and unexpectedly too, and the soul be lost.
" Cannot you, and Thomas, and Jane spend Thanks- giving with us on Thursday of this week ? Do come if you can, or any of your family. We are all in usual health, and send much love to you all. God bless, and guide, and comfort you.
" Your affectionate second father, « T. H. G."
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 321
To Alice Gallaudet.
" At the Notcii House, July 24th, 1846. 11 Dear Alice, — I left Center Harbor, which is near Red Hill, on the beautiful Winnipisseogee Lake, on Wednesday morning — nine passengers inside the stage and four on the outside, besides the driver. It rained hard in the afternoon, and we were glad to reach old Mr. Crawford's, in a sequestered interval of the Saco River, surrounded on all sides by lofty mountains. Yesterday it continued raining till the close of the day, so that we were kept within doors, except some of the gentlemen who went trout-fishing in the wild and clear Saco, which winds through the one hundred and fifty acres of land which Mr. Crawford has cleared up. He is a remarkable man, seventy-nine years old, well known in all these parts. He yet clambers over the mountains with an elastic step. He told me this morn- ing if I should meet a bear anywhere thereabouts, just to look him full in the face and tell him ' Old Craw- ford's coming,' and he would run off and give me no trouble ! This morning eight of us gentlemen, on horseback, with a guide on foot, set out to ascend Mount Crawford. We were nearly an hour in reach- ing the summit. What a sublime prospect ! The day was a fine one. Mountain rose behind mountain in every direction, many higher than the one on which we stood. Among these, Mount Washington, the high- est of the White Mountains, six or seven thousand feet above the level of the sea, stood preeminent. I had never seen the like before. We spent an hour there. The descent was at first rather startling to me, for one misstep of the horse might have been attended with 14*
622 LIFE AND LABORS OF
serious consequences. But I soon found that the ani- mal was very careful and sure-footed, and I rode along fearlessly, relying on that kind Providence which has so often preserved me.
" I often, often, think of you all, and daily commend you to God for his protection and blessing. 0, let us think more of him, and love him more, and trust in his Son as our only Savior. We need this Savior. How can we have our sins forgiven without relying on him ? Oh, pray, pray, my dear Alice, and all of you, for the influence of the Holy Spirit to renew and sanctify your hearts to lead you to repentance for sin and to faith in Christ.
" Your affectionate "FATHER."
To his son William. " Hanover, Dartmouth College, July 29th, 1846.
" My Dear William, — I wrote Alice a long letter a few days since from the White Mountains. The let- ter wrhich I got there at the Notch House, was a great refreshment. I heartily approve of Katy's going to the sea side, and pray God to make it the means of benefiting her health. I shall be very anxious to hear how she does, and indeed how you all do. Write me immediately on the receipt of this, as many of you as possibly can, and as much as you can, and give me particulars about each of the family.
"I left the White Mountains last Saturday, and ar- rived at the Franconia Iron Works, passing through Littleton, which you can easily find on the map. I called on an old sea captain, agent of the company and postmaster, whom I once knew in Salem, Mass., and
REV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 323
Lad a long cliat with him. He was kind enough to weigh me. How much do you think I weighed? One hundred and twenty-five pounds! So I have gained five pounds since I left Hartford. I think a good deal of this has been made out of the rye-and- indian bread which they make in all the region through which I have traveled, and which I do hope your mother will learn how to make before I return.
" Monday morning my host, Mr. Oakes, and myself, started in an open one-horse wagon to see the curiosities of the Franconia Notch. "We rode twent}r-two miles going and coming ; took a foot path in the woods to see the famous Flume, a cascade and precipitous tor- rent which part of the way runs through wild and perpendicular rocks. "We saw also the Old Man of the Mountains, Echo Lake, near Mount La Fayette, and the other beautiful lake. The scenery of the Franco- nia Notch is, I think, taken as a whole, decidedly more impressive and soul-stirring than that of the Notch of the White Mountains.
" Your affectionate •« FATHER."
To his son Wallace.
u Montreal, August 10th, 1846. " My Dear Wallace,— I wrote Catharine from Bur- lington, Vermont, a few days since. William's letter of the 1st I found on my arrival here, with your mother's and Catharine's. Katy must try to do some- thing effectual for her headache. I still would wish to have her make trial of the dieting process, which I have suggested at least for a month or two. With regard to her discontinuing her music lessons, auci
324 LTFE AND LABORS OF
Alice's keeping on or not, I leave that to her mother's decision, as she knows best all the circumstances of the case.
"I left Burlington last Thursday forenoon in the steamboat, and after a most delightful sail down Lake Champlain, reached St. Johns, in Canada, about four P. M. I there took the cars to La Praire, whence a steamboat brought us across the St, Lawrence, a dis- tance of about nine miles, to the city. I have been very busy since I came here in seeing the curiosities of the place. Notre Dame Cathedral is one of them. It is two hundred and sixty feet long, one hundred and thirty-three wide, with a portico in front one hun- dred and fifteen feet high, and two towers two hun- dred and fifteen feet each. I ascended one of them up a flight of two hundred and eighty-five steps, and had a most commanding view of the city, the St. Lawrence and the distant landscape. The building cost one hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling. One tower contains a set of ten musical bells, and the other the big bell, weighing more than fifteen tons. I propose to start for Quebec to-morrow to return here in a few days, and then to be on my way to Niagara Falls. With the exception of a slight cold, my health is, I hope, still gradually improving. Pray for me. How can we venture to live without prayer ? Secure an interest in Christ, Study to obey the Bible. Live for Christ and to do good, and all will go well with us. We have another world to live for after this life. Are we prepared for it? The Lord guide, protect, and bless you all.
"Your affectionate father,
"T. H. GALLAUDET."
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 325
To his son Thomas.
" Montreal, Aug. 17th, 1846.
"My Dear Thomas. — Your welcome letter of the 8th, with the too few, though better than nothing, lines from Elizabeth, reached me this morning. Why did yon not tell me particularly about dear Katy's head- ache, and Sophia's health, about which you know I am so anxious to hear ? I should have been glad, too, to know about each of the family ; where they are, how they do, and what they are doing.
" I have delivered a public lecture on the instruc- tion of the deaf and dumb. It was well attended. I contrived to make the lecture interesting, quite so; some of my friends were kind enough to say, by play- ing a good deal of the deaf and dumb myself. Should the result be to induce the people here to start an institution for their deaf mutes, and there are enough of these to need one, I shall be richly paid for my labor. I find deaf and dumb, and their friends, where- ever I go ; and have the privilege and happiness of doing, I hope, some little good in this field of benevo- lent effort. I am solicited, just now, to spend a day at Brockville, on my way to Niagara, a beautiful village on the St. Lawrence.
" Do all the good you can, my dear son, while with the family, to its various members ; and especially pray for and try to promote their spiritual good. Immortal souls, needing a sure personal interest in the atoning blood of Christ, to whom you are bound by the ten- derest ties, surround you. What are you doing to lead them all to the Savior ? Are you yourself be- coming more and more prayerful and spiritually
326 LIFE AND LABORS OF
minded ; forsaking the world, which is the great bane of Christian progress, and against which the Scriptures so often and so solemnly warn us to struggle ? Your privileges are great, so are your responsibilities. It is of little use to belong to the church if we have not the spirit of Christ, and do not find ourselves becom- ing more and more like him, and devoted to his cause. Nay, the greater will be the condemnation.
" Much love to dear Elizabeth. I hope she has chosen the one thing needful. I often pray for her and yourself, as I do for you all. Warmest love to your dear mother and to all the children. Very kind remembrance to Sarah. Tell her, from me, to pray more and more that she may have the love of God and of Christ in her soul. Very kind regards to all the neighbors, and all friends.
" Your affectionate father, « T. H. G."
To his son Edward.
" Montreal, August 18th, 1846.
" My Dear Son Edward, — How I want to see you and go out with you, and look at your rabbits. Do they grow well? And what names do you give them? And how are you getting along in school ? Has your vacation ended ? Give my af- fection and regards to your two school-fellows. Tell them I hope they will be good boys, mind their teachers, get their lessons thoroughly, and be kind to each other, and you must do so too. Pray to God, my dear son, to help you to do so, to lead you to be truly sorry for your sins, to trust in Christ as your Savior, to love and obey God, and to do good to
REV. TIIOS. II. GALLAUDET. 327
others. Do you help your dear mother all you can ? Are you respectful, kind, and obedient to her ? You must write me a long letter, on a whole sheet of paper, so that it shall all come from yourself, and tell me all the news. Tell me all the neighborhood news. I suppose you read, or have read to you, the letters which I write home ; but this morning I have not any particular news to tell you. This is not nearly so noisy and bustling a city as New York. God bless you, my dear son, and make you a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ, and may you do much good in the world.
" From your affectionate father,
"T. H. GALLAUDET."
To his Daughter.
u Kingston, August 21st, 1846. " My Dear Sophia, — My last letters were to your mother and Edward, from Montreal. I am now on board the royal mail packet, "Sovereign," 6 o'clock p. m. The sail through the Bay of a Thousand Islands, from Brockville to Kingston, fifty-six miles, is unique in beauty. The St. Lawrence here, is studded with these islands, some of them miles in length, and others but a few yards in circumference. Most of them have a bold rocky shore, and are covered with trees of a smaller size, and of various kinds, evergreens being predominant. Such beautiful bays putting up into these islands; such picturesque groves, with an oc- casional and only dwelling, and a cultivated spot round it ; once in a while, a small flock of sheep ; the landing places for supplying the steamboats with
328 LIFE AND LABORS OF
wood ; the circuitous course of the channel, carrying you among the islets, and often almost grazing them, and an opening at times which discloses the American shore in the distance, some four or five miles off, fur- nishes an ever varjdng scene of beauty, which I shall never forget. How often I wished you all with me, to enjoy it ! We had forty or fifty emigrants on board, deck passengers. What a contrast most of these afforded to the loveliness of nature which sur- rounded us ! I pitied them, and longed for their elevation. When will such beings be educated? Where are the friends of humanity that will toil to do it ?
" I succeeded, as I had done before, in getting a comfortable state room to myself, on the upper deck, from which, with the window open, I breathe a pure air ; but I could not sleep after three o'clock. I read a portion of Scripture, remembered you all in my supplications at the throne of grace, and was ready to look round and get a glimpse of Coburg, on the Canada side. We stopped soon after at Fort Hope, to discharge some passengers.
" We start again : the passengers are just beginning to turn out, we have an unusually small number. Among them is an interesting young married couple, just from England, with whom I am getting a little acquainted; they speak the purest English. You would take them, from their pronunciation, to be of our sort of folks, and they said they took me for an Englishman; so you see you and I speak English pretty well. Don't be ashamed of your bringing up in this respect. I commend you all to the guidance, and blessing of God. May his good spirit ever dwell
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 329
with you all. Make sure of a personal interest in Christ. Live for him.
"Your affectionate father,
" T. H. GALLAUDET."
To his son Thomas.
" Hartford, December 10th, 1847.
"My Dear Thomas, — I believe you and Jane both owe me a letter. Lead her to write me soon by setting her the example. It is rather longer than usual since we have seen Wallace. When his partner was here a week or two ago he was quite well. Things temporal seem to be working favorably with him. Pray for him that the grace of God may bless him in things spiritual. Eddy is taking lessons in a writing school. Your mother is in admirable health and spirits. Sarah is well and much pleased with our new brick cistern. My health is pretty good for me ; better, decidedly, I think, than it was a year ago. The Lord continues to bless us. 0, that we might love him more and serve him better.
"Do you know that I pass another milestone to-day in the journey of life ? I am now sixty years old, and must begin to regard myself as getting to be quite among the old men. There is something very strange in it. Somehow or other, I can't but feel myself a boy yet. I believe it is owing a good deal to my having grown up in the place where I was once really a boy, and which has always been my home.
"But other and more serious reflections crowd upon me. Life seems to me short as a dream. Eternity seems very, very near. Am I prepared for it ? Have
330 LIFE AND LABORS OF
I a sure interest in the atoning sacrifice of Christ? Am I truly a sincere Christian ? Do I show my pro- fessed belief in the Savior in my daily conversation and conduct ? Am I living for him ? Am I doing what I have abundant opportunity for doing — his will — and striving to promote his cause in the hearts of others ? Serious questions these for us all to ask ourselves. What does conscience reply ? The Lord guide and bless you all.
"Your affectionate father, "T. H. G."
To the same.
" Hartford, May 9th, 1848.
"My Dear Son, — "We have just received your tele- graphic announcement of the birth of a daughter, and that all are well. The Lord be praised. May he con- tinue his goodness to his handmaiden, renew her health and strength, and fill her and your heart with grati- tude for his kindness towards you. The Lord grant that this young immortal, my first and dear grand- child, may live to be a faithful and devoted disciple of Christ and an heir of his salvation. Grod bless the dear child i Your mother, Sophia, and the whole group have given a name to your daughter by accla- mation. They say it must and shall be Rosina Gal- laudet. So say I. We all send love to you all, and rather especially just now to your wife. Jane must write me soon, and you too, owe me a letter. When you write on the receipt of this, give a minute descrip- tion of the rose bud.
" Your affectionate father, «t. H. G."
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 331
To the same.
" Hartford, February 2nd, 1849.
" My Dear Sox, — I am glad that you are pleased ■with the book I sent you, Dr. Milnor's Life. He was truly a good man, may you have much of his spirit. He had a large, as well as a pious heart. Those whom the Gospel thus makes free are free indeed. 0, that we may all have more of the spirit of Christ, and live in him and for him. But, how much remains in us that is opposed to this ! We must be giving up continually, more and more of self and of the world, if we hope to make progress in the divine life. How mauy allurements and temptations beset us to draw us away from the imitation of Christ ! May God give us more and more of his grace.
11 1 hope you will be blessed in your new sphere of duty as superintendent of the Sunday school. May God enable you to be faithful and to lead your teachers and scholars to true repentance and faith in Christ, showing their reality by the fruits of a holy life. Among you all, I remember your and my dear little Caroline, in my private devotions, that divine grace may lead her to be a faithful and devoted fol- lower of Jesus Christ, that her life may be prolonged, her health good, and she prove a great blessing to her mother and yourself. Do not make her too tender. I do not believe any child can grow up in our climate with a good constitution and sound health, without much daily exposure to the open air. Can you not teach her the sign of spectacles for her grandfather, and the one for her grandmother ? I long to see her once more, and you all too. William just tells me
332 LIFE AND LABOES OF
that you owe him a letter. Do write him soon a good long one and a good one. He is quite communicative with me on religious subjects. When will Christians in domestic and social life, show that the love of Christ reigns in their hearts, by conversing naturally, habitually, and readily on the things that belong to his kingdom, and not, as is now so much the case, on the things merely of this world. How sadly is our light hid under a bushel ! Give my love to your wife, and to all the family circle. May the Lord bless every member of it, especially with spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus.
" How soon these family circles will be broken up ! One link, after another, of the chain will be re- moved. Let us look forward to these separations serenely and hopefully. Death ought to be welcomed by Christians. Once more, the Lord bless you and keep you.
"Your affectionate father, «T. H. G."
To his Daughter.
" Hartford, March 7th, 1849.
" My Dear Daughter, — I am glad to hear through your husband's last letter, how much Caroline is im- proving. I long to see her ; and as soon as we begin to have good weather and pleasant traveling, I shall claim a visit from her and yourself.
"I have no doubt, that Thomas and yourself are teaching your little daughter the duty of obedience on her part, and training her to it. To neglect to do this, as some too indulgent parents do neglect it, is doing a great and permanent injury to the child. No
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 333
being, whether young or old, is so liable to discontent and unhappiness, as the one who has not learned promptly and cheerfully, to submit to rightful au- thority. Make a child, even as young as Caroline is, obey in little things, if you desire to have her obey in greater things as she grows older. I think, by the grace of God assisting us, for which we should pray devoutly and habitually, that a child even as young as yours, can be trained to have kind and benevolent feelings, and to make little sacrifices for the sake of promoting the happiness of others. It can be taught this in various ways, among others, by being led, not forced to divide its good things with those around, so as at length to do it readily of its own accord, and with manifest satisfaction.
" A little child like Caroline, should be led to see and to feel, that the happiness of others is to be re- garded, as well as her own. If you continually treat her so as to lead her to feel, that her wants and wishes are always to be gratified, and that father and mother, and all around her, have only one thing to think of and to do, to seek in all possible ways to make her, as it were, the idol of their love, and the sole object of their attentions, how can she help feeling that everybody and every thing must yield to her, and be subservient to her pleasure ? In this wray the child gets stronger and stronger habits of selfishness and self-will.
" ' My father,' I seem to hear you say, ' you are giving me a lecture on Education ! ' Well, take it for just what it is worth. May the grace of God be with you and your husband in training up the dear little immortal committed by him to your care, and
334 LIFE AND LABORS OF
may the same grace be given in abundance to the child, that she may grow up in the image of Christ."
To his son William.
" Hartford, January 7th, 1851.
"My Dear Son, — My general health is quite as good as when your mother left us, and through the mercy of God I do not suffer any acute pain. My mind is quite at ease with regard to the issue, and the very obscurity and uncertainty which attends my case, only seems to increase, as I hope my trust in the Great Physician who will do with me and with this poor body of mine as he deems wisest and best. If I can only have his grace, and the comforting sense of the Savior's presence with my spirit, through the scenes of life which are yet before me, and through the hour of death whenever it may come, my most earnest petition will be answered. Pray for me, that I may have these consolations and hopes. All my hopes center simply and entirely in the atoning sacri- fice of Christ, and on his righteousness. I am sure I have none of my own to satisfy the demands of the law of God. Salvation in its beginning, progress, and consummation, is all, all from the abounding grace of God, through Christ, to us guilty and miser- able offenders. To that grace let us give all the glory, and endeavor to magnify it in our life and conduct, that others may be drawn to it by the Savior. " Your affectionate father,
" T. H. GALLAUDET."
REV. TIIOS. II GALLAUDET. 335
To his Granddaughter.
" Hartford, Jan. 27th, 1851. "Dear Caroline, — Uncle Wallace will tell you how we all do. We have six canary birds. They sing beautifully. We were glad to see Uncle Ben. Do you go to his shop ? Does he ever give you any of his medicine ? Does he ever give you any sugar candy ? Which do you like best, a pretty book or some sugar candy? I wish you could see our new pussy. It is a very pretty cat, but we don't like to have it stay long in the parlor. It keeps looking up at the birds, as if it wanted to catch and eat them. Katy is afraid that some time, Avhen nobody is in the room, pussy might get up on a chair and jump as higli as the cage and hurt or frighten the birds. Uncle Wallace is going soon, so I must stop writing. We all send a great deal of love to Caroline and to you all. Be a good girl ; love God, love to pray, love papa and mamma, and do what they tell you. Love all and be kind to all.
" From your loving grandpa, « T. H. G."
To the same.
" Hartford, April 7th, 1851. "My Dear Granddaughter, — That was a very pretty letter you sent me a few weeks ago. Yes, we shall all be glad to see you in the warm weather, and Eose, and Jackey Horner, and your mamma, and grandma. Sarah shall make some nice cakes for }tou and Eose and Jackey Horner. But I guess you will have to eat all Eose's and Jackey 's cakes, for they have not
336 LIFE OF REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET.
got any teeth to eat with, so you shall have all their cakes. I hear you have been sick, but that now you are well. Thank God that you are well again. Thank him for the many good things he gives you, and that he has given you a kind papa and mamma to take such good care of you, and teach you about God and Jesus Christ and the Bible, and how to be a good girl. Pray to God to help you to be a good girl, and he will help you. We all send a great deal of love to you. Tell mamma to give you three kisses for me. I pray God to take good care of you, and bless you, and help you to love him and to be a good girl.
11 Your affectionate grandfather,
" T. H. G."
To the same.
" Dear Granddaughter, — Grandpa Gallaudet sends you a little book for a Christmas present. Father will read it to you, and mother make signs about it to you. I think you will like it. Grandma Gallaudet will tell you all about us here at Hartford. I send three kisses by her for you ; one on the right cheek, one on the left cheek, and one on the lips. Be a good girl ; love God, love Jesus Christ, love to pray. May God bless you.
"Your affectionate grandfather,
"T. H. G."
PART THIRD.
EMBRACING THE PERIOD OF HIS CONNECTION"
WITH THE RETREAT FOR THE INSANE,
TO THE CLOSE OF HIS LIFE.
PART THIRD.
CHAPTER I.
Eight years had now elapsed since Mr. Gallaudet left the Asylum, and it does not appear that he in- tended ever to connect himself with any other public institution. He had, as we have seen, declined many advantageous offers. He loved retirement. Hartford was his home, where, from his boyhood, he had spent nearly all his life, and to which he was strongly bound by the cords of love. He had enough to do, and just such work as he wanted. He could write books for the young, and in many ways aid the cause of popular education, which was, in the largest and best sense, the dearest of all causes to his ever active and philanthropic mind.
But, though he was not to leave Hartford, God was opening the way for his introduction into a new sj)here of public service, for which he had been qualifying him all the time of his connection with the school for the deaf and dumb. There, for twelve years, he had been studying the human mind, in the earliest de-
[339]
340 LIFE AND LABORS OF
velopments of its normal state. He had been clearing the way and opening the door for the emancipation of the imprisoned faculties of deaf mutes, and bring- ing them into joyful fellowship with their sorrowing friends, and teaching them the relations Avhich they sustained to their Creator, of whom, before, they had no knowledge.
Now he was to be brought into daily contact with minds bewildered, deranged, cut off from the possi- bility of enjoying the endearments of home, and brought together where they might have all the cura- tive appliances which the highest skill, the largest experience, and the warmest Christian sympathies can furnish.
Mr. Gallaudet was to go from his retirement into an Insane Hospital, to study the human mind in this abnormal state ; to be the religious teacher, friend and adviser of scores of persons suffering under almost every variety and degree of mental derangement. But whence ? He did not covet the service ; he did not expect to be called to it. But the eyes of the Mana- gers of the Insane Hospital at Worcester were turned upon him, as the fittest person they could think of, to fill the difficult and important place of chaplain. Accordingly, a correspondence was opened with him, through Dr. Woodward, for so many years the beloved and distinguished superintendent of that institution. I have room for only three of the letters.
Mr. Woodward to Mr. Gallaudet.
" Worcester, February 16th, 1838. "My Dear Sir, — We have introduced religious worship into our hospital, in a manner quite satis-
KEV. TUOS. II. GALLAUDET. 341
factory, and with very complete success. I am very desirous to have you come out and preach for us at some time, and would name the first Sabbath in March, or any one that you can name afterwards, ex- cepting the second Sabbath in that month, on which day we are supplied. I can offer you no great en- couragement, but will pay all your expenses of the journey, and your board here at the American Tem- perance House while you stay.
i; My object in writing to you now is, that I wish to consult you on the subject of the chaplaincy. TTe are hoping to have a regular chaplain next summer. We would be glad to procure a man with a moderate salary, to preach for us on Sunday ; if he can pursue some other employment a part of the time, it will be agreeable. We have thought of you, my dear sir, as a preacher of the character which we should like, and hoped that you could pursue book making as profit- ably in our pleasant village as in the city of Hartford.
"We have two hundred and ten patients, one hun- dred and fifty of whom attend our chapel, which, with our help and my family, make a snug congregation of two hundred. TVe have a beautiful room, of forty- five by thirty-two feet; have a very good choir of singers, all of our own household, and perform all the parts common in a New England congregation twice every Sabbath.
" May I hear from you in the course of a few days ?
" I am, truly and respectfully yours,
" S. B. WOODWARD. " Rev. T. H. Gallaudet."
342 LIFE AND LABORS OF
The same to the same.
" Worcester, May 15th, 1838. " Rey. T. H. Gallaudet :
"Dear Sir, — Since our interview in March, I have not had an opportunity to lay the subject of a chaplain to our hospital before the Board of Trustees till the last week. They have now established the duties of the office, and I am able to lay the subject more dis- tinctly before you.. They are, also, unanimously in favor of your appointment, and expressed, individu- ally and collectively, their desire that we may secure your services.
" At present, they make it the duty of the chaplain to attend two religious services on the Sabbath ; to attend the funerals of such inmates as die and are buried at the hospital, and such other members of the family as shall die in the institution, if requested ; and to visit, at the request of the superintendent, such individuals as, in his opinion, "will be benefited by religious counsel, and to exchange with the brethren of the clergy, and admit of such aid in the desk as, in the opinion of the superintendent, will be desirable.
" At the request of the Board, I write you officially, to inquire of you if you will take the subject into consideration, and write me if you can be induced to take the place, and what pecuniary inducement you will require to allow of your coming to our aid. I wish you would be perfectly frank on the subject. "We are all desirous that you should be our chaplain. Our household, in particular, are deeply engaged on the subject, and, if it were left with the Board of Trustees to decide, I have no doubt they would make
REV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 343
a liberal appropriation. The amount to be paid as salary must, however, be subject to the revision and sanction of the Governor and Council. The Trustees wish not to fix the salary till they know who shall be the man. Should you not be able to come on imme- diately it will make no difference. We will secure temporary aid till you can. I need not say to you, that myself and family feel the deepest interest in securing your services here as a chaplain, but also as a teacher for our daughters, if you should adopt the plan of opening a school for misses, of greater or less age.
" I am happy to inform you, that we go on success- fully with our religious worship ; and I have now no hesitation in saying, that we shall do so, if we com- mence aright with our permanent chaplaincy. The office is created without limit as to time, like all of the others, and may be considered as permanent as that of a settlement over any people.
"Your reply to this I will consider strictly confi- dential, if you desire it, but sincerely hope it will be encouraging, and the basis of a final arrangement that will be beneficial in the highest degree to us, and not unfavorable to yourself.
"Yours truly, «S. B. WOODWAKD."
Dr. Gallaadet to Dr. S. B. Woodward.
" Hartford, July 6th, 1838. mMy Dear Sir, — Three weeks have not yet elapsed since I last saw you. I had hoped, however, even be- fore this time, to give an answer to the invitation which the trustees of your institution had been so
344 LIFE AND LABOBS OF
kind as to make, to have me occupy in it the situation of Chaplain. Yerj peculiar circumstances have pre- vented me from doing so.
" As I informed you, before my last visit to Wor- cester, I had been appointed Secretary of the newly organized Board of Education in this State ; and, al- though I could not, at that time, consider it my duty to accept of this appointment, I had agreed to postpone an absolute decision till my return and consultation with a Committee of the Board. The absence from Hartford of the acting member of the Committee de- layed the decision a week, when I declined the ap- pointment.
" In the midst of these deliberations, and wholly unexpected to me, the appointment of Chaplain to the Eetreat for the Insane in this city, was proposed for my consideration by the Board of Managers, about a week since. This placed me in a new and very try- ing position. To make it the more so, the Committee of the Board of Education proposed, that should I become Chaplain to the Retreat, and have any spare time, they would be glad to have my services in con- nection with their operations, and in such a way as to call me very little from home, a considerable absence from which, during the year, was one of my principal objections to becoming the Secretary of the Board. I found, on conferring with Dr. Fuller, that it was his wish, at present, to have but one religious exercise on the Sabbath, prayers once a day, and such intercourse with the patients as might be deemed judicious; so that I could devote considerable time to the business of the Board of Education, and to one or two other sources of support which promise well if I remain here.
RBV. TTIOS. II. GALLAUDET. 3-15
" In addition to this, you can readily conceive and appreciate other and powerful motives that would influ- ence me to continue in Hartford. I have lived here forty years ; I have among our citizens many old and long- tried friends; my wife finds here a place of worship on the Sabbath, and a circle of intimate ac- quaintance who know her language ; our plans of liv- ing and of economizing are adjusted to an experienced state of things ; a school taught in my family, and which all my children attend, excepting one, has been for years in successful operation, and can be enlarged to any extent ; and here we are very near an aged mother "and deaf and dumb sister of my wife, and her near relations. Some of these considerations, I know, are not to be put in the scale as weighing much against the great objects of benevolent effort in im- portant spheres of duty ; but they have a proper place, where two, and it may be, nearly equally im- portant spheres of duty present themselves. Still I was determined to say or do nothing to forward the plan of my remaining here, unless the whole thing should move easily, and without any urgency on the part of my friends. I knew — for the Man- agers of the Eetreat had told me so — that what they could offer from the funds of the Institution would be small ; but they said a few individuals were ready to make up the deficiency. Under these cir- cumstances, I consented to have the matter come be- fore the Board of Directors, requesting my friends, as a personal favor, to let the thing take its own free course, and if any, the least difficulties should pre- sent themselves, to drop it all at once ; in which case I would immediately let the Trustees of the Institu- 15*
846 LIFE AND LABORS OF
lion at Worcester know on what terms I wonld be willing to go there. The Directors met a few days since, and proposed five hundred dollars from the funds of the Institution, and two hundred and fifty from other sources, a year, payable to me by the Treasurer, and made secure for five years, if I continue to discharge the duties of the office acceptably; seven hundred and fifty dollars being offered me as a salary for services which will occupy about one half of my time. I concluded to accept the appointment. I have not made the least effort to bring about this result. In- deed, I was in a state of most perplexing, and I may say distressing, hesitancy to know where my duty lay. Had there been no such unsought invitation to me to stay here, or after being made, had anything occurred to arrest, temporarily, the course of action on the part of the Institution or my friends, towards its consummation, I should promptly and heartily have taken the steps to lead me to Worcester, if our views, with regard to compensation, ha harmonized.
"Providence has ordered it otherwise, and being guided as I have been, and taking the course which I have, I beg you particularly, and the gentlemen com- prising your Board of Trustees, and Mr. Foster, and any other friends, to accept my sincere thanks for the marks of confidence and kindness which have been shown me in our late negotiations, and my earnest wishes and prayers for the prosperity of the noble Institution which you have been instrumental in rais- ing to such a high degree of usefulness, and of honor- able character in our land. In my humble field of effort here, I shall aspire to be a fellow -laborer of yours in your extensive sphere of benevolent exertions,
REV. TITOS. II. GALLAUDET. 347
and shall hope, in the particular department in which I shall be called to act, to receive no small amount of aid from the suggestions which I have already derived from the interesting interviews I have enjoyed with you, and from the future results of your observation and experience, which I am sure you will be willing to impart. I shall hope to hear soon from you in re- ply; and in the meanwhile, present my very kind regards to Mrs. W. and your family, to Dr. Chandler, Deacon Ellis, and other friends, both in and out of the Institution. You hardly know, my dear sir, the conflict of feelings through which I have passed. ISTever have I been called to a similar one in my life. Everything inviting at Worcester, on the one hand, {cooperating with yourself in a noble department of benevolence, the most important feature of the scene,) and Hartford, with its sphere of duty, and some pecu- liar advantages, and a thousand endearing associations, on the other. The Lord guide and bless you and yours. " Yours truly."
Mr. Gallaudet's correspondence with the Directors of the Eetreat for the Insane at Hartford, is briefly re- corded by himself in his diary.
" June 28th. — Messrs. Charles Sheldon and James "Ward, two of the three Managers of the Eetreat for the Insane in Hartford, proposed for my consideration the becoming Chaplain of that Institution. This was wholly unexpected to me, and unsolicited on my part. The next morning I had a conversation with Dr. Fuller, the Superintendent of the Eetreat, on the subject. My mind was in great perplexity. I sought
348 LIFE AND LABORS OF
divine direction, and think that I desired simply to ascertain the path of dnty.
" Monday, July 2d. — I addressed the following note to the Managers of the Retreat.
To the Managers of the Retreat for the Insane.
" Gentlemen, — Since my conversation with you on Thursday last, I have made the subject which you pro- posed, matter of deliberate consideration, and have come to the following result : I am willing to accept of the appointment of Chaplain to the Retreat, if I can receive an adequate compensation, and on certain con- ditions.
" The duties, I suppose, will involve the religious exercises on the Sabbath, in preparing for which, es- pecially the discourses, much study and care will be necessary ; the attending daily prayers ; such inter- course with the patients as the Superintendent may deem advisable ; the procuring of that information with regard to the condition of the insane mind, by reading and otherwise, which it is indispensable for an intelligent and judicious chaplain to possess, together with portions of time incidentally devoted to the gene- ral interests of the Institution. These duties will oc- cupy, at least, one half of my time ; and such is the opinion of the Superintendent. The compensation can be adjusted accordingly.
"In ascertaining what this compensation ought to be, it is but justice to myself to state, that I have a large family of children, all of them in the progress of education, and the expense attending this continually increasing; that I need the means of making a short excursion once a year; something to add a little
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 819
to my librar}r, which is to constitute one essential means of my improvement; and something to be laid up for future exigencies. Taking these things into consideration, would it be deemed unreasonable that I should aim, from the salary allowed me by the Ke- treat, and the other means that may be within my reach, to secure an income of fifteen hundred dollars annually ? It is also to be borne in mind, that, in as- suming the responsibility of Chaplain to the Retreat, and making the duties of that office the leading object of thought and effort, it may not always be practicable to obtain one half of my income from other sources.
" Four weeks of absence during the year, at some convenient season or seasons, for the purposes of re- laxation for myself and family, is another condition which I should deem essential.
" Accept my thanks, gentlemen, for this mark of your confidence in thinking of me as a suitable person to discharge the very responsible duties of Chaplain to the Retreat. Whatever may be the issue of our negotiation, my earnest wishes are, that it may be so ordered by a kind Providence as to promote "the best interests of the important Institution, the concerns of which are entrusted to your management.
UI am, &c,
T. H. GALLAUDET."
"July 2d, 1838.— The Directors of the Retreat held a meeting, and my communication was laid before them. They adopted the following Resolution :
" ' Resolved, That the Managers be authorized to offer Mr. Gallaudet seven hundred and fifty dollars per annum, for five years, as Chaplain to the Retreat,
350 LIFE AND LABORS OF
lie discharging the duties of his situation to the satis- faction of the Directors.'
" July 6th. — I called on Dr. Fuller to inform him that I was ready to enter upon the duties of my office. He said, a Committee of the Directors, appointed for that purpose, would, in a few days, have the By-laws prepared, respecting the duties of the chaplain, and then they would be ready to have me commence the discharge of those duties.
"In all this affair, I humbly hope, that I have acted from a sense of duty. I have continually prayed to God for his guidance. 0 1 may the result be for the promotion of his glory, the advancement of the Ee- deemer's kingdom, and the best good of my fellow- men. I ask these for Christ's sake."
Mr. Grallaudet kept a diary of his labors in the Ee- treat, up to his last sickness, from which I have taken the following copious and exceedingly interesting ex- tracts. They show the man and his eminent fitness for the place ; his wisdom, his conscientiousness, his piety, his quick and lively sympathies with the patients in their unhappy condition, and his remark- able skill as a spiritual physician in "the house of mercy." It will be seen, too, that admirable as the curative arrangements and appliances were, he was all the while studying how they might be increased and made perfect. As the results of his daily observa- tion and reflections, his diary abounds with suggestions, such as were at the same time occurring to the Su- perintendent also, and which have, one after another, "been carried out by the Directors.
"Sabbath, July loth, 1838.— This day at 3 P. M. I
REV. TIIOS. H. GALLAUDET. 351
commenced my labors as Chaplain to the Eetreat for the Insane in Hartford, Conn., by conducting religious s Trice there, and preaching my introductory sermon. Out of ninety, the whole number of patients, eighty attended. The assembly, in all, consisted of one hun- dred. The Key. Mr. Spencer and the Key. Mr. Rich, two of the patients, at the request of Dr. Fuller, sat on my right and left. One of the female patients, on ac- count of her incessant, loud talking, just before the exercises began, was led to her room. All the rest were quiet, and conducted themselves with great pro- priety, excepting a very little chattering from a male patient, which, however, was soon stopped. 0, for a single eye to the glory of God. and the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom, in this my new sphere of duty ! 0 God, by thy Holy Spirit purify my mo- tives, and guide and encourage me in my work, for Christ's sake.
'•July 23d. — 'While conversing with three or four of the patients, one of them observed, that there were a great many crazy folks and fools all around us. ' Yes.' says another, ' and it takes a very wise man to find out that he is a fool.'
" July 24th. — I received, a day or two since, a most kind letter from Dr. Woodward, in reply to the one I wrote him, declining the appointment of Chaplain to the Hospital for the Insane at Worcester.
"July 26th. — Had some conversation with Dr. Hawley and Mr. Buel about a library for the patients. Told them if Dr. Fuller would give his approbation, one might easily be obtained. Suggested the advant- age of a collection of suitable prints and pictures.
" Aug. 8th. — Many visitors, who stayed to prayers ;
352 LIFE AND LABORS OF
the patients still. Mrs. H. L. Ellsworth reminded me of the fact, which I had forgotten, that at their house, (the D wight-house in Prospect-street,) her husband being one of the building committee, I first suggested giving the name of ' Eetreat ' to the institution. Mrs. Dr. Fuller told me how much she was struck with the peculiar and reverential appearance, as she sat at the window observing him unnoticed, of Capt. Vertres, one of the patients, in the yard, approaching the building and listening to the prayer.
" Aug. 11th. — Have nearly succeeded in teaching young Lannos, from Trinidad, the alphabet of the deaf and dumb, on the fingers. He also learns signs very quickly. Mr. L. observed that if he had not neg- lected prayer, and forgotten his duty to God, he would not have been deranged. He lamented his past miscon- duct, and the grief he had brought on his aged father, and on his wife, and declared if he were ever permitted to return to Lis family, he hoped he should be a very different man.
" Aug. 15th. — Mr. L.r after prayers, began to speak to Dr. Fuller of his past misconduct being the cause of his derangement ; but the doctor checked him, saying that he was not at all in fault, it was all disease, and out of his power to control, and that he was not in the least to blame for it.
" Aug. 19th, Sabbath. — Called on my way home to see Mrs. H., who has a husband in the Eetreat, and had from her a particular account of his case. (I am becoming more and more convinced that a judicious physical and religious education, on the simple prin- ciples of the Gospel, with early piety, constitutes the best security against mental alienation, and if it must
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 353
come, affords the greatest facilities for the use of those means which, under the blessing of God, will result in restoration.) Mr. W. rode home with me part of the way. He thought my confession of sin, in prayer, was too strong for the insane, that it might disturb and agitate them. This involves a point of deep interest — to what extent the simple truths of the Gospel may be brought out, in the religious exercise in the Ketreat, with benefit to the patients. May the Spirit of Truth and Grace direct me in this matter. My impression now is, that the best course is, in a calm and kind manner, to bring out these truths, and to lead the insane to feel, so far as they have reason left, that Christ, in his mediatorial character, is their great hope; that he is ready to sympathize with them in their affliction, and to save them as sinners. But the manner of doing this must be looked to.
"Aug. 20th. — Inquired of Mr. and Mrs. Buel, Dr. Hawley, and Miss Clark, whether it had come to their knowledge, that anything which I had said in prayer, or preaching, at the religious exercises, had produced anj' excitement or agitation among the patients. They said they knew of no such effect.
" Aug. 22d.— Eode in with Dr. Fuller. Asked him which was the best work on insanity. He said he knew of no good one. He differs from Dr. Todd in thinking that the insane are not to be reasoned with, or persuaded out of their mental delusions.
" Aug. 27th. — Commenced singing at prayers. One of the female patients very noisy and carried out. Before prayers, had a very pleasant conversation in the physician's room, with the Eev. Mr. S. and Mr. Y., the latter of whom is a member of a Baptist church.
354 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Rev. Mr. S., in the course of it, replied to an inquiry which I made of him respecting the meaning of the expression in the 3d chap, of St. John's Gospel, ' Ex- cept a man be born of water,' &c, by saying that it doubtless referred to baptism.
"Aug. 29th. — Eev. TV. S. prayed at the evening service. He is a convalescent patient. His prayer was a very appropriate one.
" Sept. 1st. — No singing. All composed. Before prayers, had some conversation with Mrs. W., and told her how much good she might be instrumental of do- ing in the Retreat. After prayers, had some conver- sation with Miss Gilbert, one of the nurses, on the importance of endeavoring to bring the attendants under a religious influence. 0! that God would open the way for this !
" Sept. 12th. — Just before prayers, Mr. D., a patient from Maryland, requested of Dr. Fuller and nryself, that he might make the prayer, saying that he was a professor of religion in the Methodist church, and would pray in such a manner as to be acceptable. I referred the matter to Dr. Fuller. Jle said we would take a day to think of it. Mr. D. urged his request. I observed that none but clergymen had been invited to pray, and that the precedent would be an unhappy one, as there were other patients who were professors of religion, and might expect to be invited also. Mr. D. said none of them would make the request. I again referred the matter to Dr. Fuller, observing that he must take the responsibility ; if he thought it best, I would invite Mr. D. He told Mr. D. the kind of prayer which would be desirable, and said if I would take half the responsibility, he would consent. Under
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 355
the circumstances, I thought it best to do so, and in- vited Mr. D. to make the prayer. We sang, and I read a portion of Scripture, and Mr. D. prayed. His prayer was very short. With my present views, I shall object, hereafter, to asking any one to pray situated as Mr. D. is.
"Sept. 30th, Sabbath. — Large number of visitors. Patients composed, excepting McEwen, the deaf and dumb young man, who tittered considerably. Preached on the subject of prayer. After service, Colonel W. told me it was the best sermon which he had heard me preach. (0 God, open the way before me for more and more usefulness among the insane. Give me more simple and self-denying principles of benevo- lent action in this sphere of duty. Encourage me in it by the tokens of thy approbation, and by permitting me to see some fruits of my labors.)
" Oct. loth. — Interesting conversation Avith Mr. H. (who is a member of the Free Church) before prayers. He said he felt sorry for the manner in which he had expressed himself on the Sabbath, in the way of find- ing fault with his being detained in the Retreat, and charging Dr. Fuller and others with being unjust and cruel towards him. He observed that the cases of derangement, accompanied with religious excitement, seemed to be increasing ; and he believed that, in many cases, if Christian friends would be faithful in doing their duty, they would not occur. He thought a little timely attention and sympathy, on the part of his Christian brethren towards him, when his mind first began to be disturbed, would have saved him from coming to the Retreat.
"Xov. 14th. — Had a very interesting religious com
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versation with Mr. 0., who lost his mother lately, a pious woman. He seems to be in a very desirable state of mind ; says he prays daily — prays for power to overcome his sins ; prays for submission to the will of God, and for his holy spirit ; and loves to read his Bible.
" Nov. 20th. — Had some conversation with Mr. S. in the Retreat, about the troubles in Canada. Observed to him, that I hoped the time would come when all men would be at peace with each other. ' Do you think,' said he, 'that the devil will ever become the friend of the Almighty?' 'I do not,' I replied. 1 Well,' he added, l when that happens, men will be at peace with each other.' Went over the male wing with Dr. Fuller, and had a little religious conversation with a few of the patients. 0, for much grace, that, as I have more and more intercourse with the patients and attendants, and all connected with the Retreat, and become more familiar with them, I may be enabled to preserve the unblameable consistency, prudence and Christ-like purity of character and conduct, that becomes my responsible situation. 0 Lord, shed down upon me continually thy holy spirit, that I may do this, and in all my conversation and deportment aim to promote the best good, and especially the spiritual good, of all the inmates of the institution !
" Nov. 23d. — Had a pleasant conversation with Mr. Hill. S. exclaimed, ' How conscience can trouble us. I think of my conduct towards my parents. I hope they are in heaven.' I pointed him to the Savior.
" Nov. 29th, (Thanksgiving day.) — Attended divine service in the afternoon, at 4 o'clock, and preached a sermon written expressly for the occasion. After ser-
REV. TTIOS. IT. GALLAUDET. 357
vice, had a very interesting religious conversation with Mr. L. and "Mr. S. The latter tells me that his mind is greatly occupied with religious subjects. He spoke most emphatically of the need of repentance.
"Dec. 5th. — Mrs. Whittelsey died about sundown. Her friends tell me that she appeared rational towards the closing scene. On being asked if she knew in whom she believed, she said, ' Yes, in the Lord Jesus Christ.' She has sustained an exemplary Christian character, and there is every reason to believe that she has made a happy exchange of worlds.
"Dec. 18th. — Visited both the wings, in company with Dr. Fuller and Mrs. Sigourney. Had, with a few of the patients, some religious conversation. The interview with Mr. B. was a very affecting one. He asked me to pray for him. He said the adversary had got entire possession of him. Soon after he was in- troduced to Mrs. Sigourney, he said he must ask her pardon for sending her the piece of poetry which he did for the Eeligious Souvenir. ' Will any one shed a tear for me?' he exclaimed. 'Yes,' said Dr. Fuller, 'you have the prayers and the tears of many.' '01' said B. ' I cannot weep now ; I could once. I could shed tears for the distressed. It was my mother's weakness in me. Is this a visit of sympathy or not ? ' On being told that it was, he said, 'I thank you much.' He asked permission to attend prayers, which he did, and was perfectly quiet. Eev. Mr. S., one of the patients, praj^ed.
" Dec. 20th. — After prayers, had a long interview with Mr. L. and Mr. B., who were together. Mr. L. considered himself as without piety, and beyond the reach of the Gospel salvation. He complained of
358 LIFE AND LABORS OF
having no feeling on religions subjects ; of trying to pray, and not being able to clo it. I tried to console him, but without effect. I told him of Cow per, of whose piety there is satisfactory evidence, and yet who suffered so much from despondency and down- right despair. But he replied that it was by no means certain that Cowper was a Christian. Mr. B. spoke, too, of his own case as hopeless. He was possessed, he said, by the devil, and given over to everlasting destruction. He said he had committed the unpardon- able sin. 'What is the unpardonable sin?' said I. 'I do not know,' was his reply. 'How, then, can you know that you have committed it ? ' He made no answer. He spoke of seeing shadows that warned him of his doom. He said his voice had been changed by a satanic influence, and was unlike what it formerly was. I endeavored to give them both such counsel as I thought would do them good. Mr. B., his attend- ant tells me, sometimes kneels down by his bed, as if engaged in prayer.
"Dec. 29th. — After prayers, visited Mr. B., who was supposed to be dying in the afternoon, but was better in the evening. I prayed with him. Afterwards his father arrived, and I witnessed the interview between them. It was truly an affecting one. Mr. B. was quite composed and rational, excepting that he seemed to think his father would not forgive him, and did not love him. He repeatedly begged his father to forgive him, and to love him, if it wras only a little. He in- quired very properly and affectionately about his mother and the family.
"Jan. 22d, 1839. — After prayers, spent some time in the committee room with a circle of female patients.
REV. TIIOS. II. GALLAUDET. 359
Gave them instruction in the manual alphabet, in which they took a great deal of interest, and also in many signs used by the deaf and dumb, which I ex- plained to them. Scarcely any thing was said by any one of them ; indeed, I can recollect nothing that would indicate a deranged state of the mind. One made some remarks about the derangement of another patient, and spoke, also, of her own with great propriety.
v- March 12th. — Visited Mr. L. and found him very unwell, and exceedingly depressed in mind. More should be done to bring the insane under the influence, during the whole time, of a rational and cheerful piety. Those who have the care of them need such a piety themselves ; and to act from relig- ious, benevolent principle, feeling a pleasure in their employment, and regarding it as one of a truly ele- vated kind, inasmuch as they are, in an eminent de- gree,, folio wing the example of Christ, if they act from the motives which he presents to his followers. The insane should have vastly more means of interesting and useful occupation. Little parties of sewing and knitting should be formed for the females. Spinning- wheels, large and small, should be introduced. There should be a spacious hall for exercise in bad weather, where battledoor could be played, and India-rubber balls used, and other innocent recreations. Instru- mental music and singing should be encouraged, and drawing and painting. The matron should devise various modes of entertaining the female patients; make parties for them, with a little fruit and lemonade.
" There should be a reading-room for the females, and one for the males, in which should be suitable books,
360 LIFE AND LABOKS OF
periodicals, newspapers and pictures, and other enter taining objects ; a museum of natural curiosities ; collections of shells, of minerals, &c. A course of lectures in chemistry, natural philosophy, &c, might be delivered ; on history and biography, by the chap- lain. The females might cultivate flowers in pots, in their apartments, and the males also. Singing-birds in cages might be introduced. Work-shops for the males should be provided. Parties formed for the males, and occasionally for both sexes to come to- gether. Checkers, backgammon and chess ; but not cards. 1. They tempt the attendants. 2. They too often fascinate too much the patients. 3. Patients who never played before acquire a fondness for this at the in- stitution, and the habit goes with them, to expose them to grievous temptations. 4. It is revolting to the feelings of many patients who have been educated to regard it as an immorality. 5. It must be very nar- rowly watched, not sometimes to lead to gambling among the patients. 6. It often leads to profanity and to boisterous and angry language, and in this way has annoyed other patients within hearing of it.
" Great pains should be taken to interest and improve the attendants. In their leisure time, they should be provided with suitable books, newspapers, periodicals, &c. They should be regarded and treated as Christian fellow laborers, in the work of doing good. They should be encouraged to make suggestions in a proper way. In doing all these things, regard should, of course, be had to the peculiar state of the patient, to determine whether any, or how much, of these means of employment and amusement, may be profitable. But who can be among the insane, a little while, and
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 3G1
not see how they need objects to occupy and interest their minds ?
11 April 12th. — Before prayer had some conversation with the patients, in the physician's room. Visited the male wing. Mr. Hotchkiss, among other things, observed that no deception should be practiced with the patients. They knew it when it was done, and it made them the more uneasy. He said, if they asked for what was not proper for them, give them a plain denial at once, and they will be much better satisfied.
" April 19th. — Prayers as usual. Mr. and Mrs. Belk- nap, the new steward and his lady, arrived to-day, and entered upon their duties. Told them there were two texts which they should take for their guide : ' I can do all thiugs through Christ which strengtheneth me.' ' Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.'
" April 20th. — Had some conversation with the male patients in the physician's room. Mr. G., a patient, told me that he thought it would be much better to practice do deception with the patients. He complained of it, and said they would be vastly better satisfied to have it laid aside altogether, and if they were to be denied anything, to be told so plainly and explicitly.
" April 23rd. — Had considerable conversation with Mr. C, a patient from B., and some with Mr. A. Kemember that the patients often have great delicacy and sensibility, and require to be treated accordingly. Are not the insane peculiarly sensible to kind, gentle, and delicate sympathy ?
" May 2nd. — A dance this evening. I did not stay. Dr. Fuller asked me if I had any scruples about it. I told him, I thought it depended upon the manner in which it was conducted. 16
362 LIFE AND LABOKS OF
" May 10th. — Mr. C, a patient, arrived, making a great noise, and using very profane language. Mr. S., .a patient, standing at the door and noticing this, said, ' If this is being crazy, it is bad enough ; I'm sure, I'll try and not be crazy any more.'
" June 9th, Sabbath. — After service, visited both the male and female wings, with Dr. Fuller and Dr. Haw- ley, and addressed religious conversation to a great number of the patients. All but one received it pleasantly; that was Miss C, who made some skeptical remarks in reply. How much more good might be done, by having the whole time of a chaplain devoted to the institution, and he then to have daily, personal conversation with such of the patients, as, in the opinion of the physician, would be benefited by it, on religious subjects.
" June 18th. — Attended prayers, and remained some time after prayers, conversing with the patients. Dr. Fuller spoke to-day of the importance of having a library for the patients. How much various means for affording them more interesting and useful employ- ment are needed. I have often spoken of a library and of a reading room, and of pictures.
"June 27tk.— After prayers, went through the female wing with Dr. Fuller. Several of the patients there are in a very excited state. Dr. F. and myself had some conversation with them. Might not ingenuity and skill, and above all Christian benevolence, ming- led with great kindness and delicacy of conduct, do vastly more than is done, for the comfort of these poor beings, and for their restoration ? Prayer should be at the foundation of the daily efforts that are made for this object.
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 363
" July 3rd. — After prayers visited part of the male wing. Had some religious conversation with Mr. S., and Mr. M. ; the latter told me of his having, or nearly having, the delirium tremens from the use of spirituous liquors to excess. He saw a great many little snakes on his bed, protruding their heads at him. The excessive use of alcohol and opinm was one of the principal causes, if not the principal cause, of his de- rangement ; and yet, so great is his infatuation, that he told me he considered it a part of his very nature to use these articles, that his enjoying health depended on this, and that he would use them moderately if he could. He seemed to have no idea of his danger in using them. His parents are pious people. 0 that divine grace would touch his heart.
11 July 15th. — This day, the second year begins of my connection with the Eetreat, as Chaplain. The first thought that strikes my mind, on a review of the past, is the need that I have to lament the imperfect manner in which I have discharged my duties, and especially that I have not felt a deeper interest in the spiritual welfare of those who have been within the reach of my ministrations. 0 God, awaken a new zeal in my breast, with regard to the future. O that some one, or more, that are concerned in the internal affairs of the institution, would discover an interest in its spiritual welfare ! How it would encourage me and cheer my heart. What good might be done ! The physician, the steward, the matron, the attendants, and a considerable number of the patients, are accessible to the influence of religious truth. What an influence for good, if all there (I hope some of them do,) felt its influence. During the past year, besides preaching
364 LIFE AND LABORS OF
on Thanksgiving and Fast days, I have preached every Sabbath, excepting three : Dec. 23rd, when Rt. Rev. Bishop Brownell officiated, myself present ; Feb. 2nd, when I exchanged with Rev. Mr. Southgate, of Wethersneld, and April 7th, when Rev. Horace Hooker officiated, myself being present. I have visited the male wing eighty-two times, frequently with Drs. Fuller and Hawley, and sometimes alone, conversing with the patients, and sometimes praying with them. In the same way I have visited, the matron or assistant matron accompanying us, the female wing and rooms in the center building, and Mr. Lee, at his room opposite the Retreat, seventy- two times. I have, a few times, spent a whole day at the Retreat ; and oftener (say twenty) half claj's, not including prayers and evenings ; and twice accom- panied the patients in a visit to the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb. In attending evening prayers, I have generally had more or less conversation with the patients, who have been down stairs, before and after prayers, and sometimes prolonging my visits into the evening.
■" Aug. 21st. — Spent the day at the Retreat, dining with the family, visiting the whole of both wings with Dr. Fuller, conversing with the patients as I had opportunity, and reading in some of the old records of cases in 1829. Attended prayers in the evening. 0, how desirable that the spirit of humble, dependent piety, and of good will to others, on the self-denying principles of the Gospel of Christ, should be made to influence all that is done for the relief of the insane, in an Institution for their benefit ! Yastly more atten- tion should be paid to the moral and religious condi-
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 365
tion of the attendants, an interest shown in them, and means devised for their intellectual and moral im- provement. They have some leisure time. How pro- fitably it might be filled np with judicious reading.
" Aug. 25th, Sabbath. — Why cannot an air of more sacredness and serene solemnity, be shed over an establishment for the insane, on the Sabbath ? I am becoming more and more convinced that a wise relig- ious influence ought to be made, under the blessing of God, to pervade such institutions. It will yet be done, and the Gospel of Christ illustrate its power here as elsewhere. God has not been honored, in this respect, as he ought to have been.
" Sept. 6th. — Before prayers, had considerable con- versation with Mr. P., who is recovering. Among other things, he observed that it was very strange that the physicians should attempt to doctor religious no- tions and feelings out of a man by medicine. lie thought it was wrong.
" Sept. 27th. — Visited the female wing with Miss Clark. Attended prayers. There should be a room to which, at convenient times, the matron should invite two or three of the female patients under the direction of the physician, to meet the chaplain, the matron re- maining, (or the assistant matron,) for the opportunity of religious conversation. Let this be done in rotation. It would afford the means of conducting such conver- sation better than it now can be done in the wing ; not, however, to supersede the latter mode.
" Oct. 4th. — Spent most of the forenoon at the Retreat. Visited both wings with Dr. Fuller, and had much conversation with the patients. How many more things might be done for their innocent and profitable
366 LIFE AND LABORS OF
occupation. The minds and feelings of some of the idiotic patients might be waked up to activity, and possibly to improvement, I have no doubt.
" Dr. Fuller, Mr. Bayles, his brother, and myself, had a little meeting in one of the rooms, for conversation, previous to Mr. B.'s going home, which he did this day. The object was to present the strongest motive to his mind, to abstain from all intoxicating drinks. I urged upon him the duty of looking to God for strength, and of habitual, earnest prayer, for that purpose.
" Dec. 4th. — Soon after dinner, called on Miss C, at Miss Ely's, who is in a deranged state of mind. Had a long conversation with her, and endeavored to per- suade her to be willing to go to the Retreat. She said she would see me again to-morrow. At the request of Mrs. EL, her sister, and of Mrs. Ely, I called on Mr. Daniel Burgess, and requested him to call at Mrs. Ely's and let Miss P. know that her friends had con- cluded that she must go to the Retreat, and to compel her to go if necessary. I advised this course, in pref- erence to any that involved any deception or man- euvering. It was taken, and the object accomplished without any difficulty, she only protesting that she went against her will. She arrived at the Retreat im- mediately after prayers ; at which time I officiated, as usual. It has been my undeviating course, which I think is the only correct one, to practice nothing like deception or collusion with the patients, and to fulfill strictly all my engagements with them.
"July 30th. — Prayers and conversation. Rode in with Dr. Brigham. Told him the principle that would regulate my conduct in my department, that of acknowl-
REV. TIIOS. II. GALLAUDET. 367
edging him as the head of the Institution, and of acting in my intercourse with the patients, in accord- ance with his views and regulations. Told him I wished, if at any time I failed in this particular, that he would let me know it. He said he thought the only point where some caution would be necessary, would be in inviting clergymen to preach in the Re- treat. I told him he could either leave that to my discretion, till he saw reason to think I was acting unwisely ; or, I would consult him in each particular case. He said he did not wish me to do this.
"Dec. 26th, 1841, Sabbath. — Just after beginning the sermon, one of the female patients walked across the hall, rather suddenly, into the men's room, and was taken back with some difficulty. As she entered the men's room, young B., a patient, became greatly excited. For a minute or two the doors of the males' and of the females' rooms were closed, and the exer- cises suspended. I soon began again, and there was entire quiet till the close. This is the first and only time, since I have been connected with the Eetreat, that I have ever suspended, at all, the course of relig- ious exercises.
11 From May 11th, 1846, to April 10th, (inclusive,) 1847. Absent on an excursion, for health, three months and eighteen days, Rev. Horace Hooker taking my place. During the rest of the time (say eight and a half months) visited male wing, 113 times; female wing 89 times. Visited female reading and sewing parties, 45 times. Made personal visits to the patients, attendants, and nurses, (male and female) 328 times. Prayed with patients, attendants and nurses, twenty- nine times. No funeral services, except, in a few in-
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stances, they have been connected with the services in the chapel at evening prayers. Officiated at prayers, on the Sabbaths, and Thanksgiving, and Fast days.
"Oct. 9th, 1847. — Visited E. early in the forenoon, and asked him if I shonld pray with him. He said, not now ; I will let yon know. I had told him I was about going into the city, but would be back soon. In a few minutes he sent for me to the physician's office, where I was. I went to him. ' On the whole,' said he, ' I think you had better pray with me now; for we do not know what may happen within two or three hours.' I began to pray. He stopped me, saying, 'Excuse me; but I wish to have you make one special request.' ( What is it ? ' said I. He replied, * I am a very great sinner ; pray that God would soften my heart ! '
"April 12th, 1848. — This day, myself and wife re- ceived a bed quilt with the accompanying note, in the hand-writing of Miss E. C, a patient :
11 'Presented to Mr. and Mrs. Gallaudet, by the ladies of the Eetreat, April 12th, 1848.'
" On various parts of the quilt, texts of Scripture are written by female patients, with their signatures. The following verses accompanied the present, by Miss M. G., a patient :
" ' This offering to thee we send, And with it our affections tend ; Perhaps you'll smile, perhaps you'll laugh, We planned it for your better half.
The patchwork, though so intricate, Is from a model drawn of late. 'Twas your good friend, our Mrs. C.,* That first designed this plan for thee.
* Matron in the Retreat.
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 369
"We all agreed, with one consent, And with the work right onward went. The names subscribed in pen aud ink, Are well ensconced in white and pink.
These passages of Scripture truth, You've made familiar from your youth ; But each of us has placed them here, An emblem of our love sincere."
" Services at the Eetreat from April 1st, 1850, to April 1st, 1851 :
" Visits to male wing, 148 ; female wing, 206. Total, 354. Personal visits to patients, attendants and nurses, 502. Prayers with patients, attendants and nurses, 16, Funeral services, 5.
'•Officiated at prayers, Sabbaths and Fast-day. Vis- ited Asylum with patients."
In the month of June, 1845, Mr. Gallaudet received a copy of a circular from a committee of his class in the Andover Theological Seminary, inviting him to meet them there at the approaching anniversary, for a renewal of their acquaintance, and to recount to one another what had befallen them in the more than thirty years since they left the seminary. As he could not be with them, he wrote them the following letter, containing a succinct history of the way in which the Lord had led him :
" Hartford, Coxecticut, July 28th, 1845. "Kev. B. B. Edwards.
"Dear Sir, — In reply to the circular addressed to
the Alumni of the Andover Theological Seminary, I
would state the following particulars : I have never
been settled in the ministry. Soon after completing
16*
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my studies at Andover, in 1814, I engaged in the en- terprise of teaching the deaf and dumb, and continued in this sphere of duty till the fall of 1830.
" I was ' ordained to preach the Gospel,' by an Ec- clesiastical Council, convened in Hartford, of which the venerable Dr. Nathan Perkins was Moderator, September 23d, 1834. From 1830 to 1838, I was em- ployed principally in writing books for children and youth, nearly all of which were designed to illustrate and enforce the truths of religion ; and from time to time, in supplying vacant pulpits in and around Hart- ford. One of these books, * The ChilcVs Book on the Soul,'' has been circulated extensively in the United States ; it has also been published in England ; in French, at Paris ; in German ; in modern Greek at Athens, and approved and circulated in the public schools of Greece by the Minister of Public Instruction; in Greco-Turkish ; in Armeno-Turkish ; in Siamese ; in Chinese, and in the language of the Sandwich Islands.
" Some of my other books have also been translated and published in various foreign languages, especially at our missionary stations. I have reason to believe that the Lord has blessed the labors of myself and colleagues, among the deaf and dumb, in the applica- tion of his renewing grace to the hearts of not a few of them, and in the preparation of many more, by instruction in divine truth, yet to come under its sav- ing influence. This is true missionary ground. Will not my brethren in Christ remember these imprisoned minds, and those who labor among them, in their prayers. How seldom, I fear, are they thus remem- bered! They are among 'the poor,' to whom, in these latter days, the Gospel is at length preached.
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 371
Besides, all should be interested in invoking the bless- ing of God upon them, and upon the Institution es- tablished for their relief, for every increasing family may have a deaf and dumb child in it, as one half of them become so after birth, by disease or accident. In the seven institutions for them in our country, now in operation, religious worship is maintained by signs, and evangelical religious truth inculcated. Nearly all our teachers of the deaf and dumb are professors of religion, and, in the view of charity, pious men.
"In July, 1838, I began my labors at the Retreat for the Insane, in this city, where I still continue them, spending my afternoons in personal intercourse with the patients ; conducting religious exercises, which but few of them fail of attending, at the close of each day, and in the afternoon of each Sabbath. My interest in this afflicted class of our fellow-man is constantly increasing. I love my work, and I think the evidence in this and other similar institutions, is daily accumulating, that the blessed truths of the Gospel are peculiarly adapted to the singular and affecting condition of the insane ; furnishing one of the most efficacious means of cure, and one of the greatest securities, after restoration to soundness of mind, against a relapse. A new triumph of the cross of Christ ! Why, may I ask again, are the insane so rarely remembered in our private, domestic, and pub- lic devotions? When our Savior was on earth, the lunatic had a prominent share of his compassion.
" From December, 1837, to March, 1844, I acted as volunteer Chaplain of the Hartford County Jail, hold- ing a religious meeting with the prisoners, and preach- ing a sermon to them every Sabbath morning, which
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service I was reluctantly obliged to discontinue on ac- count of a chronic affection of my throat and lungs. Did time permit, I could state some very interesting cases, in which the Lord, by his grace, has evidently blessed these labors. With all the modern improve- ments in discipline, how much yet remains for the philanthropist and Christian to do for this class of our fellow men ! I have, till within about two years past, (being obliged to relax my efforts on account of ill health,) still prosecuted, with my other occupations, the work of authorship, being principally engaged in this way in writing a series of volumes, adapted to young minds, of { Scripture Biography,' which have been published and circulated by the American Tract Society. During the same period, I have had pub- lished a Spelling Book and a School and Family Dic- tionary, in connection with the Eev. Horace Hooker, he and myself being joint authors; in the latter of which is included, by way of illustrations of the mean- ing of words, a large amount of historical, moral, and religious truth, and many quotations from the sacred Scriptures.
"Since leaving the seminary, I have devoted no small portion of my time to aid the movements in favor of general education, and of other public objects of- Christian benevolence.
"If, in these various ways, I have been permitted and enabled to do any good; to God and his grace be all the glory.
"I was married about twenty-four years ago, to Sophia Fowler, of Guilford, Connecticut, a deaf-mute from birth, and a pupil in the class in the asylum of which I had the especial charge for a term of years,
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 873
She is now forty seven years of age, and myself fifty- seven. We have had eight children, all of whom hear and speak, and are living. Death has never en- tered our dwelling since the clay of our marriage. Such is my story. May grace, mercy, and peace, be with all who love the Lord Jesus.
"Yours in trie bonds of affection,
"THOMAS H. GALLAUDET."
The following letter seems to have been written to Mr. Gallaudet when he was absent from home on one of his vacations, and deserves a place in this memoir. It could not be inserted earlier, without interrupting the continuity of the diary.
" Retreat, Thursday, July 9th, 1846.
" My much respected and esteemed Friend, — Your little note to me, enclosed in a letter to your daughter, was very gladly received last evening. I am very much obliged to you, my dear sir, for putting yourself to so much trouble to go and see my aged and very excellent mother. I know she was very glad to see you, and your visit gave her great com- fort, and I hope your trip was not without pleasure to yourself. You certainly saw a very romantic country, and breathed some pure air, and I hope your ride did you good, aside from the luxury you always find in adding something to the happiness of others. As you say, my dear mother has suffered a good deal, and is very infirm; but I never heard a murmur from her lips, and she is always cheerful. Allow me to thank }~ou again, my dear friend, for your kindness. I appreciate it, and I know my mother does also. She will never
374 LIFE AND LABOES OF
ceo.se to remember your kindness with, a lively grati- tude. I wish I could have been there with you, for I could have shown you some very pretty views within short walks of my mother's house. I am afraid you did not see them, as my brother has not much taste in such things. I love to go home once in a while, and clamber over those hills of my cow-boy days. I hope you saw the farm owned by my father, though it has very much degenerated, except the part now belong- ing to my mother.
" We are all going along at the Eetreat very quietly. Number of patients, one hundred and twenty-seven. Mr. Walker has left. Mygatt goes to-day on a farm. Edward Thompson has gone. On the 4th of July we had a very pleasant celebration. The L in the north dormitory hall was fitted up most beautifully with evergreens and flowers, and the table set there. The hall was ornamented clear through, and the table with flowers, beautiful cake, fruit, lemonade, &c. The ex- ercises were opened with prayer by the Eev. Mr. Hooker; then came an address by Mr. Jewett, very good indeed ; then an oration by Mr. Wads worth, which was marked with great beauty- of thought and style, and delivered in an eloquent, manly, and impres- sive manner. It was really a very fine speech, and interested us all very much. After this came the refreshments, with twenty or thirty toasts, all of which shall be kept for your inspection on your return. After the refreshments and toasts, Mr. Hooker re- turned thanks, and the exercises closed. We also had vocal and instrumental music. We were together about two hours, without a single instance of dis- orderly conduct on the part of any patient, and there
EEV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 375
were about eighty present. You would have enjoyed it highly had you been present.
Your sincere friend, " DANIEL BROOKS."
I also here insert the following report of Mr. Gal- laudet, as Chaplain of the Eetreat.
" The usual religious exercises on the Sabbath, and the evenings of the other days of the week, have been regularly continued during the past year. A large proportion of the patients have been in the habit of attending these exercises, and have evinced the benefit derived from them by the good order and becoming deportment which, with very few exceptions, have prevailed. The religious sensibilities are, in this way, often rekindled. Self-control is aided in regaining its dominion ; and peace, at least for a season, visits the most agitated breast. May we not hope and pray that the Spirit of grace and consolation will here, as well as elsewhere, shed down its hallowed influences to en- lighten, to purify, and to bless the soul. Our Savior, before he left the world, promised the Comforter to his disciples ; and will he not delight to fulfill this promise among such as are kindred sufferers with those who shared so largely in his compassion while on earth ? Among these sufferers we often find some of his most faithful followers.
Cases frequently occur which, in the opinion of the physician, require the services of the chaplain in the way of personal intercourse with the patients ; when the hope-inspiring views and promises of the Gospel may be addressed to the desponding mind with great benefit. Such services have been promptly and cheerfully rendered.
376 LIFE AND LABORS OF
Death sometimes enters the walls of the institu- tion, and it has more than once happened, that the spirit about to take its flight to another world, and in full possession of its reasoning powers, finds its faith and hope invigorated by the . consolations which are administered, and the prayers which are offered up, at this trying hour. It is a solace, too, to the friends of the deceased, to know that the funeral solemnities are conducted with .appropriate religious exercises. They have themselves often been present at these exercises.
There are other occasions, also, when feeble and convalescent patients express a wish to have the chap- lain visit them, that they may enjoy the privilege of religious counsels, and of uniting in supplication at the throne of grace. With the advice and approba- tion of the physician, such visits are made, and evi- dently with very beneficial results.
In addition to this, it Las been the custom of the chaplain to visit the patients throughout the institu- tion, from time to time; to exchange civilities and pleasant conversation with them ; and to let them see that he takes a personal interest in their welfare. The respect and kindness with which they uniformly treat him, is no less grateful to his feelings than indicative of the advantages which such intercourse, wisely con- ducted, is capable of affording. The insane know well how to appreciate acts of sympathy, and among others those of a minister of the Gospel.
The other inmates of the establishment, including the attendants and nurses, all of whom are usually present at the religious exercises, it is not to be for- gotten, come in for their share of the benefits which these exercises afford. Every day they hear truths
REV. THOS. IT. GALLAUDET. 377
and precepts from the word of God which, if cherished and obeyed, will tend to make them more faithful in the discharge of duty ; and they have the Gospel preached to them, from Sabbath to Sabbath, which they would otherwise be but seldom permitted to hear, as their constant attendance on the patients is one essential feature of the management of the in- stitution.
Commending it, with its various interests and concerns, to the guidance, protection and blessing of Almighty God, the chaplain cannot conclude this report of his labors without acknowledging the re- spectful kindness which has always been shown him, in the discharge of his official duties, by the physician, and all the other officers and inmates of the Eetreat.
" T. H. GALLAUDET.
"May 12th, 1841."
TESTIMONIAL OF THE DEAF MUTES OF NEW ENG- LAND TO MESSRS. GALLAUDET AND CLERC.
Whenever Mr. Gallandet might have left the Asy- lum for deaf mutes, of which he was, in an important sense, the founder, over which he presided for twelve years, and where he labored with unremitted toil and remarkable success, it would have been impossible for the hundreds of his pupils, whose imprisoned minds he had liberated, to have forgotten their greatest earthly benefactor. And, though no longer a teacher of the deaf and dumb, they remembered him with the affection of children for a father, and revolved in their minds in what way they could testify their gratitude to him and to Mr. Clerc, his worthy associate in those labors of love, which had, as it were, u brought them
378
LIFE AND LABORS OF
out of darkness into marvelous light." The more they thought on the matter, the more did "their hearts burn within them," till their gratitude ripened into a filial resolution to come together at the Asylum, bringing with them some fitting testimonial.
"It will not be out of place to insert in this memoir some extracts from the account of the interesting exercises which took place at Hartford, on the 20th of September, 1850, on the presentation of silver plate to these gentlemen, by their former pupils in the American Asylum, drawn up by Prof. Kae, and pub- lished in the ' American Annals of the Deaf and Dumb,' for October, 1850.
The idea originated with Mr. Thomas Brown, of New Hampshire, one of the earliest and most intelli- gent of the pupils of the Asylum. He said to the writer of this article, in his graphic language of signs, that his spirit could find no rest, until he had devised some method of giving expression to the grateful feel- ing which filled his heart, and which the lapse of years served only to increase. He had but to suggest the thought to others of his former associates, when it was eagerly seized and made the common property of them all. In the vivid simile of the orator of the day, the flame of love ran, like a prairie fire, through the hearts of the whole deaf-mute band, scattered, though they were, in different parts of the country; and measures were immediately adopted for the further- ance of the object. A committee was chosen to procure the necessary funds, and in a very short time, the hand- some sum of six hundred dollars was obtained ; wholly from the deaf and dumb themselves. The entire credit of the transaction belongs to them. The plan
BEY. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 379
was not known, we believe, to any other person, until it had been matured and placed beyond the chance of failure.
After due consultation, it was decided to procure a
massive silver pitcher for Mr. Gallaudet, and another
of the same size and workmanship, for Mr. Clerc —
each pitcher to be accompanied by an appropriate
rer.
Upon one side of the pitchers is an engraved scene, representing Mr. Gallaudet's going to France in the year 1817, to induce Mr. Clerc to come to America to instruct the deaf and dumb. There are figures of the gentlemen, and ships and waves illustrating the age across the ocean. The building of the Hart- ford institution is likewise represented. On the other side is seen a picture of the interior of the school, with teachers and pupils, and apparatus. In front, and between these scenes, is the head of the Abbe Sicard, of Paris, the instructor of Messrs. Gallaudet and Clerc, and said to be a correct likeness. On the necks of the pitchers are chased the different coats of arms of all the New England states ; and on the handles are representations of mute Cupids, and also closed hands, indicating the sign of the mutes for the first letter of the alphabet.
On the pitcher destined for Mr. Gallaudet, was engraved :
380 LIFE AND LABOES OF
PRESENTED TO
REV. THOMAS H. GALLAUDET,
FIRST PRINCIPAL OF THE AMERICAN ASYLUM,
AS A TOKEN OF GRATEFUL RESPECT,
BY THE DEAF MUTES OF NEW ENGLAND.
MOVED BY COMPASSION FOR THE UNFORTUNATE DEAF AND DUMB
OF HIS COUNTRY, HE DEVOTED HIMSELF TO THEIR
WELFARE, AND PROCURED FOR THEM THE
BLESSINGS OF EDUCATION.
HARTFORD, CONN., SEPT. 26TH, 1850.
On the salver :
TO REV. THOMAS H. GALLAUDET,
FROM HIS FRIENDS, THE DEAF MUTES OF NEW ENGLAND.
HARTFORD, CONN., SEPT. 26TH, 1850.
The twenty-sixth day of September, to be memorable henceforth as one of the ' feast-days ' of the .deaf mutes of New England, was selected for the public presentation ; and the usual school exercises of the Asylum were suspended, during the half week. A book prepared for the purpose, received the names of more than two hundred deaf and dumb visitants not now connected with the Asylum. Every state in New England was largely represented ; and from as far south as Virginia, several of our former pupils, after an absence of many years, returned to tread once more the old familiar ground.
Had we room for it, it would be pleasant to 1 report ' many things that were said on this occasion ; but our limits forbid. One young man, after re- peatedly declining the calls of his friends for a speech, at last yielded to their urgency, and went upon the platform. He told the audience, that it would gratify him much to address them, but he found it quite im-
KEV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 381
possible to collect himself for the purpose, for his thoughts were all in the silver pitchers ; and saying this he sat down.
At half-past two o'clock, P. M., the procession was formed at the Asylum, and proceeded to the Center Church.
The exercises at the church commenced at three o'clock precisely. In the absence of the Hon. T. S. Williams, president of the board of directors, Lewis Weld, Esq., the principal of the Asylum, gave an explanation of the design of the meeting in the sign language, to the deaf mutes present, and welcomed them back to the institution. He then read the same explanation to the hearing public present.
Prayer was offered by the Kev. Dr. Hawes.
Mr. Thomas Brown, of ISTew Hampshire, the President of the day, then addressed his former fellow- pupils by signs ; which address was read by Mr. Weld.
Mr. Brown's Remarks.
1 My deaf and dumb friends, — -The object of our as- sembling here is chiefly to pay our grateful respects to our early benefactors — to those, to whose assiduous labors we owe our education, and the hopes and hap- piness it has afforded us.
1 Let me congratulate you on our happy meeting. How interesting to us all is the occasion, as one for the renewal of former friendships, and the expression of grateful acknowledgments to our best friends and benefactors. Let us ever remember them, and love the great and good institution with the sincere love of children.'
382 LIFE AND LABOKS OF
Mr. Fisher Ames Spofford, the orator of the day, now took the stand. As his address had not been written, a translation was made by the Rev. Thomas Gallaudet, of New York, for the benefit of the hearing part of the anditory, as he proceeded. We insert only its concluding sentences :
1 Thirty-three years ago, there were no educated deaf mutes sent out into the world; now, a large number. What a change does this fact present ! Who have been the instruments of this change? Messrs. Gallaudet and Clerc, under the smiles of heaven. Our ignorance was like chaos, without light and hope. But, through the blessing of God, light has shone through the chaos, and reduced it to order. The deaf mutes have long wished to express their gratitude to these benefactors. Mr. Brown first con- ceived the idea, and addressed letters to all for their consent. All enthusiastically agreed. The idea flashed over the whole, like the fire on the prairie. The wishes which we then expressed, are now carried out, in the offering before us, and the perfume of friendship which they convey to our old instructors, will be as fragrant as the offering of the spices in Persian temples to the sun.
' Our thanks are likewise due to the founders of this institution, on which Heaven has smiled. Some may say that deaf mutes have no gratitude ; that they re- ceive favors as the swine do the acorns of the forest that are shaken down for them ; but it is not so. We all feel the most ardent love to these gentlemen who founded this Asylum, and to these our earliest in- structors. This gratitude will be a chain to bind all
REV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 383
the future pupils together. Those who succeed us as pupils, will be told of the debt of gratitude they owe to the founders of the American Asylum. Our ship, moored by this chain of remembered gratitude, will float safely hereafter, and never be wrecked on the rocks of pride and envy. I close with earnest prayers for the happiness of our instructors, both in this world and the next.'
The applause at the conclusion of this address, among the deaf mutes, was long and loud.
George H. Loring, Esq., of Boston, formerly a teacher in the Asylum, in the name and for the behalf of the old pupils, now presented the pitcher to Mr. Gallaudet. His address was then read to the audience by Mr. Weld.
Mr. Loring1s Address to Mr. Gcdtaudet.
1 Accept this plate, which I offer to you in the name of the subscribers, former pupils of the American Asylum/ as a token of their profound gratitude and veneration.
Thirty -five years ago, there was no school for the education of the deaf and dumb in this country. They had, for a long time, been neglected, as their case was considered hopeless. * * * *
Moved by compassion for the deaf mutes in gen- eral, and sustained by several benevolent persons, you embarked for Europe, and after encountering many difficulties, you accomplished the object of your mis- sion in France. In returning to America, you brought back an intelligent and well educated deaf mute, for your coadjutor in your labors. On this occasion, a
384 LIFE AND LABORS OF
public demonstration of gratitude, on the part of the educated deaf mutes, is due to those benevolent per- sons who contributed, by their benefactions, to the establishment of the American Asylum in this city.
For these blessings of education, we have felt our- selves obliged to you ; we have long wished to make you some permanent testimonial of our gratitude, and have happily succeeded in getting one prepared. In presenting it to you, we all offer our earnest prayers for your welfare in your declining years, and for your reward in the other world.'
Mr. Gallaudet then made a reply to the deaf mutes, in the sign language, a copy of which he sub- sequently read.
Mr. Gallaudefs reply.
1 My former pupils and friends, — I rejoice to meet you once more. From twenty to thirty years have passed, since we were together in the Asylum for deaf mutes in this city. How happy you then were in receiving instruction, and myself and fellow-laborers in imparting it. Our separation has been long. Some of our number, both teachers and pupils, have gone to the spirit world.
She has gone, the beloved Alice, my earliest pupil, who first drew my attention to the deaf and dumb, and enkindled my sympathy for them. We will ever cherish her memory, and that of her father, one of your best and long tried friends. * * * *
What should I have accomplished, if a kind provi- dence had not enabled me to bring back from France one whom we still rejoice to see among us — himself a
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET, 385
deaf mute, intelligent and accomplished, trained under the distinguished Sicard, at that time teaching the highest class in the Paris Institution — to be my coad- j utor here at home ; to excite a still deeper interest in the object to which he came to devote his talents and efforts ; to be my first, and for a time, only fellow- laborer in the course of instruction, and then to render necessary and most efficient aid in preparing for their work the additional teachers who were needed. * *
You, in the ardor of your generosity, have made this occasion. I rejoice in it, especially as manifesting your heartfelt attachment and gratitude to my old friend and fellow-laborer. May he long live to enjoy this attachment and gratitude, and that of hundreds of others, to whom he has already been, or will yet be, the source of so much benefit.
As for myself, I beg you to accept my cordial thanks for the part with which you indulge me, in the touch- ing interest of the scene. I thank you all. I thank your committee individually. In him, from whose hands I have just received the testimonial of your grateful regard, which you have been pleased to pre- sent me, I recognize one of my very earliest and youngest pupils — one whom I taught for a long course of years, and who now, in the maturity of manhood, is reaping the rich reward of his faithful use of the means of improvement which he then enjoyed. This testimonial of your affection I shall ever cherish with emotions which I cannot here express. As I look at it from time to time, should my life be spared for a few more years, I shall think of all the past in which you were concerned, with a melancholy pleasure — of this day, as standing out with a strong and memorable 17
386 LIFE AND LABOKS OF
prominence, among the days of my earthly pilgrim- age— and of you and your fellow-pupils, with a father's love. I shall ever pray that God may shed down upon you his choicest blessings, and prepare you, by his grace in Christ Jesus, for the holiness and happiness of heaven.' * * * * *
Mr. Loring then, in the same feeling manner, ad- dressed Mr. Clerc, offering to him a similar gift. This address was likewise read by Mr. Weld.
A prayer in the language of signs was then offered by the chaplain of the day, Mr. Job Turner, of Vir- ginia; and with this, the public exercises were con- cluded.
At an early hour in the evening, the deaf and dumb assembled at the Asylum, to spend a short time in social intercourse, and to partake of the rich and plen- tiful entertainment provided for them by the officers of the institution. They were met by the directors and instructors, with their families, together with a few invited guests, among whom, apparently not the least interested of the party, was the Governor of the State. More would have been added to the number, had not the capacity of the buildings prevented any additional exercise of hospitality.
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 387
CHAPTER II.
Mr. Gallaudet lived about a year after the grati- fying recognition of services above recorded, and punc- tually discharged the duties of Chaplain to the Retreat, till he was constrained to relinquish them by declining health, and even after he had become too feeble for the service. Having "borne the burden and heat of the day," he still counted it a privilege to labor till the sun went down. His health began sensibly to fail in the spring of 1851, and, as the summer advanced, he often complained much of exhaustion. He strug- gled on, however, till the 12th of July, when he was taken with dysentery, from the prostration of which he never recovered, although, after two weeks, the disease was so much checked as, in a good degree, to allay the fears of his family and friends. It re- turned, however, in two or three days ; and from that time, for about six weeks, he remained without any decided change, except that he grew weaker. Still, as he lingered so long, his friends took courage that he might rally and recover. This was not to be. He had done his work, and his Master was coming to call him home.
Through his whole sickness, in his troubled dreams, he talked a great deal to himself in the language of signs, and was able, in the same way, to converse with
388 LIFE AND LABORS OF
liis wife till a few hours before he expired. The Mon- day before he died, Judge ^Yilliams called to inquire how he was, and he replied, on his fingers, " I hope I am better." Sunday he complained much of the heat, which was extreme. Wednesday lie breathed with difficulty, and was evidently failing. This was the 10th of September. About twelve o'clock, he told his daughter, who was sitting by his bed, that he felt better, took her hand, and, turning himself over, said, "I will go to sleep." He did, and it was his last sleep. From that position he never moved. Though she was fanning him at the time, so quietly did he breathe his last, that she was not aware of any change till the physician came into the room and told her he was dead. He had dreaded the final struggle, but his gracious Savior so ordered it, that it was no struggle at all. He was no more conscious of the change, than an infant is, when it falls sweetly to sleep in the arms of its mother.
In his extreme weakness, he said but little during his last sickness on any subject. He did not, as too many Christian parents do, put off to a dying bed what he had to say to his children on the subject of personal religion. Judging from the tone of his letters to them, it must have been one of the most familiar topics of instruction and exhortation in his family. And what the general tone of his correspondence with them was, may be inferred from the great prominence of the religious element in the letters which I have copied into this volume. I hardly know what a Chris- tian father, anxious for the salvation of his children, could have said, more than I have found in this family correspondence. Every reader must be struck with
I
REV. THOS. H. CxALLAUDET. 389
his reiterated and earnest exhortations to them to repentance, and faith, and consecration to Christ- Barely, I believe, does the religious element so fully pervade the entire correspondence of parents with their children. And that religion was the basis of his own personal experience, is equally manifest from the tone of his letters.
Though unexpected, on the day and hour of his exit; death did not overtake Mr. Gallaudet unprepared to meet the summons. His life and conversation testi- fied, that he had long been earnestly striving "to make his calling and election sure." A few hours before he died, he clasped his hands and offered a short prayer, a part of which only was audible. He prayed for grace to support him in whatever was before him, and then fell asleep, to wake up, as there is every reason to believe, and find himself in heaven.
His funeral, which took place two days after his death, in the South Congregational Church in Hart- ford, was very numerously attended by all classes of citizens, who mourned his death as no common loss. Portions of Scripture were read by Dr. Clarke, prayer was offered, and a short address made, by Dr. Hawes. The deaf mutes were there from the Asylum, and were addressed by Dr. Peet and Mr. Clerc. Then the assem- bly sang a hymn and went to the grave ; and, as the coffin was let down into its final resting place, Dr. Hawes quoted that beautiful passage in the fourteenth chapter of Bevelations, " I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them."
390 LIFE AND LABOES OF
Mr. G-allaudet's works follow him, and "he being dead jet speaketh," in the many instructive books which he left behind him. Yea, and he will speak to other generations, as he does now, in many languages.
The loss which society and the cause of religion had thus sustained was duly commemorated and improved in several churches of the city on the Sabbath imme- diately following. But it was still a very general wish that exercises of a more public character should be had, in which the citizens of Hartford generally might participate.
In pursuance of a call signed by thirty of the prin- cipal citizens of Hartford, a preliminary meeting was held in the Lecture Room of the Center Church, on the evening of the 20th of October, 1851, in reference to the adoption of measures for some public tribute of respect to his memory.
The meeting was called to order by Governor Sey- mour, and organized by the appointment of Hon. Thomas Day, Chairman, and Luzerne Rae, Secretary.
A series of resolutions was presented by the Rev. William W. Turner, which, after brief remarks by the mover, the Hon. Seth Terry, the Rev. Dr. Bush- nell, and other gentlemen, were unanimously adopted.
Whereas, It having pleased Almighty God to remove by death the Rev. Thomas H. Gallaudet, LL.D.,a resident of Hartford for half a century, universally known and not less universally beloved and honored, both as a private citizen and public benefactor :
Resolved, That, in the view of this meeting, the occasion is one which demands a more public and particular recognition, than properly belongs to the demise of an ordinary citizen.
Resolved, That the whole character of the eminent and excellent man whose death we mourn, commanding, as it did, our reverence and admiration while he lived among- us, will be long: remembered,
REV. TITOS. H. GALLAUDET. 391
now that he is dead, as a happy union of various and often disu- nited qualities ; of Christian faith and philanthropic works ; of liberality without laxity ; of firmness without bigotry ; of sympa- thy with the vicious and the criminal in their sufferings, without undue tenderness toward vice and crime ; and as furnishing in its whole development, a beautiful proof of the possibility of meeting the most rigorous demands of conscience and of God, and of secur- ing, at the same time, the love and respect of all classes and con- ditions of men.
Resolved, That, by the death of Dr. Gallaudet, society has lost one of its brightest ornaments ; the cause of education a most able and faithful advocate ; religion, a shining example of daily devotion to its principles ; the young, a kind and judicious counselor ; and the unfortunate of every class, a self-denying and never-wearying friend.
Resolved, That the noblest monuments of the deceased are already erected ; and that his name will never be forgotten, so long as the two benevolent institutions, one of winch received its existence from the labor of his early manhood, while the other enjoyed the devoted services of his later years, remain to crown the beautiful hills in the neighborhood of our city.
Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed by this meeting, to devise such measures as may seem expedient, in further tribute to the memory of Dr. Gallaudet ; and to make all the arrange- ments necessary to carry these measures into effect.
In pursuance of the action of this committee, the following Public Services were held in the South Congregational Church on Wednesday evening, Jan- uary 7th, 1852.
CHANT.
Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lodkd from henceforth. Yea. saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and their works do follow them.
Our days are as a shadow, and there is none abiding ; we are but of yesterday, there is but a step between us and death.
Man's days are as grass ; as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth
392 LIFE AND LABORS OF
He appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Watch, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
It is the Lord : let him do what seemeth him good.
The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, and blessed be the name of the Lord.
SELECTIONS FROM SCRIPTURE.
BY REV. WALTER CLARKE.
HYMN.
BY MRS. LYDIA HUNTLEY SIGOURNEY.
We mourn his loss, — who meekly walked
In the Ecdeemer's way, And toiled the unfolding mind to shield
From Error's darkening sway ;
Who strove through Nature's prisoning shades
The hermit-heart to reach, And with philosophy divine
To give the silent, speech ;
Who 'mid the cells of dire disease
In prayerful patience wrought, And stricken and bewildered souls
To a Great Healer brought.
Around his grave let pilgrims throng,
And tears bedew his urn : 'Tis meet that for the friend of all,
The hearts of all should mourn.
Yet meet it is our God to praise
For his example here, And for his glorious rest, — above
The trial and the tear.
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 393
PRAYER.
BY KEY. "WALTER CLARKE.
HYMN.
BY LUZERNE RAB.
EULOGY. BY HENRY BARNARD.
DIRGE.
Paraphrase of Collins' "Hoic sleep the brave ! "
. REY. THOMAS H. GALLAUDET.
17*
394 LIFE AND LABORS OF
CHAPTER III.
The following account of the inauguration of the beautiful monument erected to the memory of Mr. Gallaudet, in the grounds of the Asylum at Hartford, is condensed from the 'Annals of the Deaf and Dumb."
" Perhaps no death was ever more generally or more sincerely mourned than that of Mr. Gallaudet. "Well known throughout the land as a public benefac- tor, and equally recognized as a model of excellence in all the relations of private life ; without an enemy in any class, however wicked and degraded ; with a legion of personal friends, made such and kept such by his uniform benevolence and urbanity ; with the blessings of those who were ' ready to perish ' resting, like a crown of glory, on his beloved head ; equally familiar with the rich and the poor, the high and the low, the ignorant and the learned, the obscure and the illustri- ous ; and equally honored by them all ; no man on earth has ever lived or died, who could be addressed, with a more appropriate application, in the beautiful words of the poet,
1 None knew thee, but to love thee ; None named thee but to praise.'
"Not long after the death of this excellent man, the question began to be agitated among the deaf and
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 395
dumb, (who have always very justly looked upon him. as their best friend and benefactor,) whether the duty and the pleasure of erecting a suitable monument to his memory, did not, with peculiar propriety, devolve upon them. The idea was no sooner suggested, than it was seized upon with the avidity of loving and grateful hearts. Every hand was ready to aid in the accomplishment of the work. The obstacles and diffi- culties in the way of its performance, were swept aside with a breath, and not a doubt of final and complete success was permitted, for a moment, to embarrass or retard the enterprise.
" The individuals principally interested in the matter arranged their plans of action methodically and judi- ciously. It was early decided that none but deaf and dumb should take any part in the proceeding. Other persons might honor Gallaudet in other ways, but this monument to his memory should be theirs alone. Though speaking and hearing gentlemen might stand (as many did) with their purses in their hands, ready to contribute, to any necessary amount, for a public testimonal of honor to a man so universally beloved; not a cent, nevertheless, should go to their treasury, from the pocket of any other than a deaf mute.
" In order to the successful accomplishment of their design, some organization was necessary ; and accor- dingly the ' Gallaudet Monument Association ' was formed, with Mr. Clerc for its president, Agents were appointed in the several states of the Union, to solicit the contributions of the deaf and dumb, and transmit them to the central committee. Deaf mutes, as a gen- eral fact, are not a wealthy class of the community ; and most of the individual subscriptions were made.
396 LIFE AND LABORS OF
therefore, in small sums. But no contributions were rejected or despised on this account. Indeed, it is one of the pleasant features of the whole transaction, that so large a number of the deaf and dumb were allowed to have a personal share in it, by the offer of ' material aid.' Thus the agreeable sense of ownership, however fractionally minute each one's particular por- tion might be, filled the hearts of hundreds, every one of whom could proudly say, ' I helped to bring into being that beautiful work of art.'
" Faithful to the original determination that the whole monument should be, just as far as possible, the exclu- sive product of deaf mute enterprise, Mr. Albert News- am, of Philadelphia, a former pupil of the Pennsyl- vania Institution, and one of the most skillful engrav- ers and lithographers in the United States, was re- quested to prepare a design for the structure ; which design, after full and careful deliberation, was adopted. But the credit of the sculptured group, on the south panel, (of which we shall presently give a fuller de- scription,) belongs to Mr. John Carlin, of New York, a deaf mute artist of growing skill and reputation. The execution of the work was committed to Mr. James Gr. Batterson, of Hartford, (necessarily depart- ing, in this single instance, from the rule of limitation to the deaf and dumb,) and the manner in which it was performed, reflects the highest credit upon himself, his workmen, and especially his sculptor, Mr. Argenti.
" The monument consists, first, of & platform of Quincy granite, six feet ten inches square and ten inches thick. The plinth, is also of granite, six feet square and one foot thick. The marble base is five feet three inches square, and eighteen inches thick, richly moulded.
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 39?
The die consists of four panels, the south one containing a bas-relief, (designed, as already stated, by Mr. Carlin,) which constitutes altogether the most attractive feature of the monument. Mr. Gallaudet is represented in the act of teaching little children the manual alphabet. Three children are presented, two boys and one girl, and the execution of their faces and forms is very beautiful. The artist has succeeded remarkably well in transferring to the stone, the features of Mr. Grallau- det and the expression of his countenance.
" On the north panel the name Gallaudet, in the letters of the manual alphabet, is inscribed in bas-relief. On the east panel is the following inscription :
THOMAS HOPKINS GALLAUDET, LL.D.
BORN IN PHILADELPHIA,
DECEMBER 10, 1787,
DIED IN HARTFORD,
SEPTEMBER 10, 1851.
AGED SIXTY-FOUR YEARS.
And on the west panel is the following :
398 LIFE AND LABORS OF
ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF
REV. THOMAS HOPKINS GALLAUDET, LL.D.
BY THE DEAF AND DUMB
OF THE UNITED STATES,
AS A TESTIMONIAL
OF PROFOUND GRATITUDE
TO THEIR
EARLIEST AND BEST FRIEND,
AND BENEFACTOR.
" The die is surmounted by a cap, upon which rests the base of the column, which is two feet six inches square, the column rising to the height of eleven feet. Upon the south side of the column, surrounded by radii, is the Syriac word ' Ephphatha ' — that is, ' be opened;' which was spoken by our Savior when he caused the dumb to speak and the blind to see. The band which connects the two blocks of the main col- umn, is encircled with a wreath of ivy, the type of immortality; and the column itself is crowned with an ornate capital, surmounted by a globe. The whole height of the monument is twenty feet and six inches. It is inclosed with a handsome iron fence, with granite posts.
11 Both in design and execution, this is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful monuments of its kind, in the United States ; worthy of the noble name which it is raised to honor. Its whole cost was about two thou- sand five hundred dollars.
"At ten o'clock, on Wednesday morning, September 6th, the large assemblage, consisting of deaf mutes from every quarter of the Union, and numerous citi- zens of Hartford and its vicinity, were called to order by the Kev. Mr. Turner, the Principal of the Asylum, and an oral prayer was offered by the Kev. Joel
REV. THOS. IT. GALLAUDET. 399
Hawes, D.D., from the front steps of the Institution. This was followed by a written address from Professor Laurent Gere, of the Asylum, the President of the 1 Monument Association.' Mr. Gere's address was read, for the benefit of those not acquainted with the language of signs, by Mr. 0. D. Cooke, formerly an instructor of the Institution, but now a resident of Xew York city.
"Its concluding paragraph was as follows : u 'Mr. Gallaudet labored till the autumn of 1830, when, to our great sorrow, ill health compelled him to resign. He was a good man. His physiognomy was the type of his goodness and mildness. In his manners and conduct there was nothing affected. He had the wisdom becoming a man of his age and profession. He was not ambitious, nor mercenary. He was contented with what he received. His forte, however, was not the dexterous management of the perplexing business matters of so large an Institution; the school-room was the true arena for the display of his great abilities and greater affections. He made good scholars, many of whom we are happy to see here, expressing with tearful eyes their gratitude to him, who first brought them to speak and hear. No bigot was he, although strict in his religious persuasions. He was not too denunciatory of others' faults ; for so persuaded was he, that genuine repentance can only come through the grace of God, that he loved to pray for sinners rather than to reprove, when reproof only served to irritate. AVe therefore, saw nothing in his piety but what ministered to our improvement and edification. His mind was well cultivated. His knowledge was extensive, and taste so correct, that in his usual conver-
400 LIFE AXD LABORS OF
sation there appeared to be nothing but good taste and correct reasoning. When in discussion with others, he was deep as the sea, smooth as oil, and adroit as Talleyrand. Methinks, we are under vast obligations to such a man, who knew how to say thousands of fine things, but was always willing to say common ones, in order to accommodate himself to the capacity of those with whom he talked. No person knew bet- ter how to speak to others, of what he himself knew, and of what he knew would please his listeners. He was a man of uprightness and equity. Neither great- ness, nor favor, nor rank, could seduce or dazzle him. In a word, he was one of the best men who ever lived ; benevolent, obliging and kind to everybody. No wonder, therefore that he was beloved by all the deaf and dumb.'
" The Hon. Henry C. Deming, Mayor of the city of Hartford, next came forward, and read a list of articles to be deposited in the monument, and delivered an ad- mirable address; after which the assembly changed their ground ; repairing to the north side of the build- ings, where a platform had been constructed for the speakers and benches for the audience. Here Mr. Clerc delivered, by signs, the address which had been pre- viously read by Mr. Cooke : which done, he introduced the orator of the day, Mr. John Carlin, of New York. Then commenced a somewhat peculiar exhibition. While Mr. Carlin addressed his deaf mute audience, in graceful and graphic signs, Prof. I. L. Peet, of the New York Institution, simultaneously read the same address to those who had ' ears to hear.' With but one ora- tion, there were two audiences and two orators, both
KEY. TITOS. II. GALLAUDET. 401
proceeding side by side, at the same time and place, without the least mutual hindrance or interference.
11 We give but a few fragments of Mr. Carlin's Oration :
'"Ladies and Gentlemen:
1 This day — the sixth of September, a day to be re- membered— has come, and we are on this occasion to witness the consummation of our work. "We now be- hold there standing in graceful proportions the Monu- ment, reared to the memory of the First (next to our own illustrious Washington) in the hearts of the deaf mutes of America — Rev. Dr. Thomas H. Gallaudet. It is a substantial testimonial of our deep gratitude for his disinterested labors in promoting our mental and religious welfare, and of our high appreciation of his sterling worth.
* As there is much reason to believe that this is the first monument in the world that has ever been erected by a community exclusively deaf and dumb, how ex- quisite is the satisfaction, with which we look upon ourselves as its founders 1 What a source of gratifica- tion flowing through our veins while we contemplate this glorious result of our silent labors, commenced and accomplished within so short a time ! Conscious as we may feel of its unassuming dimensions and moderate cost, let us congratulate ourselves upon our promptitude in raising up to the public gaze this sym- metrical marble pile, to demonstrate the truth that our (the deaf mutes') warm hearts are not destitute of one of the brightest virtues of man — Gratitude ! Oh, may the fact that it is our own work, devised and supervised by our minds — once darkened, but now dis^
402 LIFE AND LABORS OF
enthralled from the horrible meshes of ignorance — en- hance the value of our Institutions in the eyes of th e public.
1 My mute friends. What deeds of the soul were perpetuated by Dr. Gallaudet so as to deserve this grateful tribute ? Was he an eminent statesman, who on our national senatorial floor, coped with the Great Trio, Clay, Calhoun and Webster; flinging upon their heads his vivid thunderbolts of forensic elo- quence? No! he was too gentle in disposition, too modest, to venture into that great political arena. Was he then a military genius, leading our little band of brave men victoriously from Palo Alto to Buena Vista, or from the impregnable castle of San Juan d'Ulloa, overlooking sullenly Vera Cruz, to the ancient halls of Montezuma ? 0 no ! he was too much of an evangelical messenger of God, blessed with a most fra- ternal heart, to relish the sight of human blood shed on the gory battle-ground, where rise, as Thayer the poet writes —
' Slowly on the burdened air, Mingled groans of wounded, dying,
Screams of madness and despair ; Cries of widows and of orphans,
Fathers', mothers', sisters' wail O'er the mangled, bloody corses,
Crushed beneath that iron hail.
{ Nay, his achievements were of the pure benevolence, which, in a philosophical sense, were equal to those of Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott in promoting the glory of our Kepublic.
'Before Dr. Gallaudet, whose soul was penetrated with the vital importance of the mission imposed upon
REV. THOS. H. GALIiAUDET. 403
his willing shoulders, embarked for Europe, to acquaint himself with the mysteries of deaf-mute instruction, all the deaf mutes of this country were ignorant heathen! Their minds were desolately blank! How vacantly their eyes wandered over the printed letters of the Holy Scriptures ! In truth, they were absolutely isolated from society, even in the midst of civilization. But when he, in his return home with the precious knowledge of the art in his keeping, landed on his native shores, Ignorance, who hitherto wielded her gross sway over the minds of the deaf and dumb, was startled at his unexpected arrival, and retreated scowl- ing all the time before the steady approach of Enlight- enment ! The desponding parents wiped their tears, and looked with swelling gratitude for the blessed day their unfortunate children might be sent to his school ! His landing here on the sixth of August, 1816, was the epoch, as glorious as it was memorable, of our deliverance from the degradation to which we were unavoidably consigned.
' Blessed be his name, which he bequeathed to us — to be chiseled in our manual alphabet on this monu- ment! Oh, let his memory be cherished constantly in our hearts, and those of the mutes of succeeding generations ! May more institutions be produced with all possible dispatch, one or more in each state, accord- ing to the capacity of its legislature to maintain their existence, and more thousands of benighted souls be thereby enlightened and brought to the footstool of Jesus Christ, whom Dr. Gallaudet adored with the childlike simplicity and humility of a sincere Christian.
1 Whence came that philanthropic spirit ? To be sure, from the pure heart of the modest man who
404 LIFE AND LABORS OF
opened the first normal school for mutes on this conti- nent, in South Main Street, Hartford ! Then, need I here asssert that that glory accrued to the states from his (Dr. Gallaudet's) love for deaf mutes ? Yet, instead of ever claiming that glory as his own, how beauti- fully his genuine piety gleamed through the dark clouds of despondency, when he penned in his diary while at London, the following words : ' To Almighty God, as the giver of all good through Jesus Christ, I commend myself, and my undertaking. He is able to do all things for me, and if success finally crowns my efforts, to Him he all the glory ! '
'There is one deed of Dr. Gallaudet's soul, which must not be lost sight of, though, it is true, it was not achieved on our behalf. On his retiring from his laborious duties in the American Asylum, by no means adequate to his naturally delicate constitution, he became a Chaplain to the Insane, at their lovely Eetreat near this city, he having declined advantage- ous offers of ministry. His gentleness of nature, his perpetual geniality of spirits, his equanimity of mind, and his earnestness and seriousness of heart in relig- ious matters, qualified him admirably for a minister of the Gospel at such a place where, in a state of being which none can ever relish,
Dwell men and women, 'reft of blessed reason ; In direful ravings of insanity.
' It would surely have warmed your hearts, had you been eye-witnesses, as I fortunately was once, to see that truly good man moving with the freedom and composure of an old, valued friend, along the corridor in the female department, shaking hands most heartily
EEV. THOS. n. GALLAUDET. 405
with the crazed women who were occasionally found therein —
In steps so slow and spectral gliding, While their mad ravings were subsiding —
and, with genuine benevolence beaming from his large, projecting eyes, breathing forth .balsam-like words of comfort that evidently stole in and touched their hearts — ever and anon cracking innocent jokes, at which the poor beings simpered, and he rejoined to their vacant simper with a good-natured laugh, ren- dering his characteristic dimples deeper !
1 Whilst we move in our pilgrimage toward the Valley of Death, let us look back always to the day we have been here, and contemplate with pleasing emotions the virtues and benevolence of the American Abbe de TEpee, to whose memory our hearts have been concentrated in this modest yet graceful Monu- ment ! '
" Other speeches followed from Prof. Gamage and Prof. Thomas Gallaudet of the New York Asylum, Mr. Thomas Brown and Governor Dutton, and the literary exercises of the day were finished. A collation pre- pared by the thoughtful hand of the matron of the Institution, of which six hundred deaf mutes partook, with other guests, followed.
" Thus ended the celebration that had been so long looked for ; and as far as we are informed it ended with perfect satisfaction to everybody. All the happy anticipations that had been so long indulged, were at last fully realized. The day was pleasant, and nothing happened to interrupt the general enjoyment. Old
•±06 LIFE AND LABOES OF
friends came together for the first time after a separa- tion of a great many years. Every one found some old acquaintance, a class-mate or school-mate, with whom to pass congratulations or exchange sympathy. Every one was happy, and the sixth of September, 1854, will be a day never to be forgotten by those who shared in its joyous festivities."
This occasion, so novel, so touching, so happily conceived, and so well sustained, can never be for- gotten by the grateful pilgrims, who came from far, as well as near, to set up the cenotaph which they them- selves had devised and paid for, to perpetuate, in solid marble, the memory of him who had, as it were, un- stopped their deaf ears, loosed their silent tongues, and poured the light of knowledge and salvation into the dark prison-house of their immortal minds. Though there are far more costly monuments than that which greets the eyes of admiring thousands as they approach the American Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, upon that beautiful eminence in the city of Hartford, how few are at once so graceful and so truthful, in their sculptured emblems and epitaphs ! And how prompt, I had almost said, the more than filial reverence and gratitude, which moved the hearts of the silent throng, to gather to their Alma Mater, and raise this lasting memorial of him whom "they delight to honor."
Where was ever a great warrior, or public bene- factor, so soon and so heartily honored by the lofty column of chiseled marble or granite? Napoleon Bonaparte had to wait some twenty years for his epitaph, under the dome of the Invalides. Even our Washington, (we believe,) had no cenotaph or statue, in any part of the land which he had done so much
KEV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 407
to save, till a great many years after his decease. The statue of General Warren has only just now been set up on Bunker Hill. And where, to this day, is the humblest marble to show us the graves of some of the great men of the nation ? * Even the Pilgrim fathers, who have been dead more than two centuries, have yet no public monument to tell where they landed, and were buried in hidden graves, to protect them from Indian sacrilege.
But here, a private citizen, a humble, unobtrusive Christian philanthropist, toils and dies, and is hardly laid to rest ere the grateful recipients of his instruc- tions gather around his tomb, from the East and the AVest, from the North and the South, and, at their own expense, poor as most of them are, erect a monument of their own devising, which, for sym- metry, grace, and beauty, can scarcely be matched by any other, though of the most ambitious pretensions.
0, it was a gathering, it was an ovation, never to be forgotten by the silent throng of loving children and pupils, who came with their offerings to honor their revered father and beloved teacher, and to perpetuate his memory. Though they could neither hear nor speak, they had the warmest hearts in their bosoms, and their memorial, ever to be silent like themselves, will transmit this filial gratitude to distant generations.
This Memoir, which now draws to a close, has of itself spoken, all along, in language not to be mis- taken, of the high order of talents and their rich cultivation; of the exuberant philanthropy, the emi-
* Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams.
408
LIFE AND LABORS OF
nent usefulness, the humble piety, and the extraordi- nary influence of the man whose life and character it holds up to view. He was a man for the times. He was wanted, and worthily did he act his part. Others who were associated with him, and knew him better than the compiler of this memorial, have kindly allowed him to avail himself of extracts from their estimation of his character and life labors, and perhaps nothing more need be added. Sure I am that but few biographers could collect higher testimonials, from so many quarters, than those which have come to my hands. But extracts from these, which cannot in justice be withheld, must not wholly exclude the reflections, which the gathering and selection of ma- terials for this volume from a great mass of manuscripts have begotten, and which claim the privilege of some brief utterance, at least.
Whether Mr. Grallaudet should be regarded as a great man, as well as one of the most distinguished philanthropists, depends upon the question in what true greatness consists. The term admits of more than one meaning. The deepest channel is not of course the greatest river. There may be as much water, or more, in one that spreads itself out over a wide surface, and laves the shores of many beau- tiful islands, and irrigates all the meadows in its leisurely overflowings, as in the deep impetuous tor- rent, that struggles and foams in the rapids, and shakes the earth with its muffled thunder as it leaps head- long over the precipice. So there may be as much talent in a man who spreads himself out over a wide surface, and cheers and refreshes suffering humanity by his personal ministrations, and puts in motion a
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 409
thousand springs of benevolent enterprise, as in a man who concentrates the powers of his mind upon one object, moves on in one beaten path, and reaches any of the high pinnacles of human renown. Because he excels all his cotemporaries in that one thing, the popular notion and verdict is, that he is the greatest man ; when those whom he looks down upon might, perhaps, even have eclipsed him by a like concentra- tion of their powers, but, by throwing themselves into the wide current of human sufferings to be mitigated, and human interests to be promoted, have done in- finitely more good.
We are not anxious to enrol the name of Glallaudet with those whom the world delights most to honor. It would be a low ambition in his friends, and the thousands who have been blessed by his philanthropic labors, his wise counsels, and the ripe fruits of the talents and attainments which he has bequeathed to the young in his writings. In the best sense of the term, he was a great man. He had talents of a high order. He could have placed himself in the first rank of living mathematicians ; he could have made him- self a renowned linguist ; he could have taken a high rank with the best preachers of his day. In other departments of the higher calendars of human attain- ments, he might have distinguished himself, had he chosen. But his mission was to the sons and daugh- ters of affliction ; to the deaf and the dumb ; to the insane ; and to the children of every class, who have been charmed, and will be charmed and instructed by his juvenile publications. If to be an eminent bene- factor of the most unfortunate and neglected of his race, is to be great, then was Thomas H. Gallaudet a 18
410 life and labors of
great man. But no matter. He was a good man, with, a great overflowing heart. His philanthropy was no spring freshet, to be dried np in the summer, but a perennial fountain, always refreshing wherever the stream flowed. He was a good man — full of faith, abounding in charity and good works, and his record is on high.
It is extremely rare to find constitutional repellencies so balanced and harmonized in the human mind that neither gains the ascendancy. One or the other is almost sure, sooner or later, to prevail. When a man feels himself strongly attracted in one direction, and with nearly equal force in the opposite, it is commonly found hard, even next to impossible, to move steadily on between the two, without being drawn aside either to the right hand or the left. If he can do it, he is one of a thousand. Without claiming that Mr. Gal- laudet gained a perfect control of himself in this re- gard, those who knew him best will testify that they have known very few who came so near to it. While he was strongly conservative in principle and action, he was, at the same time, remarkably progressive. While in general he thought the old paths safest, and was jealous of innovations and novel theories, he was always ready to hear whatever might be said in their favor. He thought there were great and long estab- lished principles, from which it was not safe to swerve; that there were old foundations which ought not to be disturbed. But, so far was he from obstinately ad- hering to old fossilized notions and habits, that, as I have just said, he was eminently progressive. He was so far from falling behind, that, in many things, he was in advance of his age. He did not believe that the
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 411
nighest practicable improvement had been made in any branch of education, or in any of the great be- nevolent enterprises of the day. In this respect he was never satisfied with the present, but was always looking forward and striving for something better. Progress, progress, was his motto. " What more can be done to perfect the system of education in our deaf ^nd dumb asylums ? What improvement can be made in the management of our insane hospitals ? How can our schools and other seminaries be raised to the high standard which the advance and exigencies of the age demand ? What more can be done for the moral and religious instruction of the young?"
These were questions which the subject of this Memoir deeply pondered, in all their momentous bear- ings. No man was more ready to cooperate with the friends of humanity, education, and religion, in their onward progress, than he was; and not seldom, as they themselves testified, were they stirred up and stimulated to action by his earnest and persuasive arguments. If you had any new plan to propose, you must convince him that it was right, that it promised some good and desirable end, and that it was practi- cable, and you were sure of him. In a word, Mr. Gallaudet was at once so conservative, that nothing but strong reasons and convictions could move him ; and so progressive, that it was sometimes hard keeping up with him.
Moreover, when he had once set his heart upon any benevolent enterprise, or object to be accomplished, he had very uncommon powers of persuasion. He was so unassuming, so manifestly disinterested, so ready to hear objections, and so skillful in obviating them, that
412 LIFE AND LABORS OF
it was no uncommon thing for him to bring over men to his views who were at first doubtful, if not opposed ; and what shows the great confidence they had in his judgment and executive talents was, that when any new institution was to be got up, he was the man first thought of to be placed at the head of it. Again and again we find, in the correspondence, appeals like these : " We regard the establishment of such a school. or seminary as of great importance, and you are the man to make it succeed. You must come. If we cannot secure your services, at least for a time, the whole will fall through. It is an enterprise of your own suggestion, and you must not let it fail." We have seen that Mr. Gallaudet had a great many such urgent invitations, between the time when it was un- derstood that his failing health would compel him to leave the Asylum, and when he accepted the chap- laincy of the Eetreat, which office he held till death closed his earthly labors.
In his manners and address Mr. Gallaudet was every where a true gentleman. Some men, when in company with their inferiors, assume a sort of patron- izing air, to make themselves agreeable ; but he, never. He instinctively shrank from it, as unworthy of his character and standing, and had the good sense to know that it was more likely to lower than to raise him in the estimation of persons of any discernment. He had a mild, but keen eye, and a beaming, benig- nant countenance. He could unbend himself and be facetious, in familiar company and on suitable occa- sions, when he chose. He had genuine wit, but he rarely used it ; and when he did, it was so keen that it gave no pain, or if it ever did, it was so momen-
REV. TIIOS. H. GALLAUDET. 413
tary that the very slight wound healed by the first intention.
I might mention other mental traits and amiable personal characteristics, which endeared Mr. Gallaudet to his friends, and secured the respect and confidence of all who knew him. But I shall only point the readers of this Memoir, and especially the young men, to the brightest star in the galaxy, which, we doubt not, is to shine on for ever in a still higher sphere — I mean his personal piety. It is not claimed that he was a perfect man, except in the subordinate scriptural sense of that term. We do not say that the central star always shone with equal luster. But it seems to me, that no intimate acquaintance of Mr. Gallaudet, embracing his whole life and labors, and no candid reader of his correspondence and other writings in this biography, can doubt, that he was what he professed to be, a sincere and humble follower of his Master, "who went about doing good." " By their fruits ye shall know them." Simplicity and godly sincerity; love to Christ and his cause, and love to man, were shining traits in his character till the sun went down ; and who can doubt, that, through rich and free grace, he has gone up to shine as the stars for ever and ever?
Here I might close the volume. But I should do injustice to my sense of what is due to the memory of so distinguished a philanthropist, so eminent a public benefactor, and so good a man, if I were not to allow at least a little more space than I have done, to his associates and other discriminating judges of his worth, who have spoken of him out of the fullness of their hearts.
414 LIFE AND LABOES OF
On the seventh of January, 1852, a discourse in commemoration of the life, character, and services of the subject of this memoir, was delivered at Hartford, upon the invitation of the citizens of that place, by the Hon. Henry Barnard, whose name is associated, in both hemispheres, with those far-extending and suc- cessful efforts for the promotion of education, in the largest sense, and for the elevation upon higher planes of life, of the great masses of men, which so illustrate our advancing civilization.
I cannot deny myself the privilege of enriching this imperfect tribute to the memory of a wise and good man, with a few extracts from this discourse, marked as it is throughout with fine discrimination, apprecia- tive feeling, and all its author's characteristic elegance of expression.
" Through the agency and cooperation of many others, it was Mr. Grallaudet's higher distinction to have found- ed an institution, and by its success, to have led the way to the establishment of already thirteen* other institu- tions, by which thousands of this unfortunate class have already been rescued from the doom of ignorance and isolation from their kind ; and tens of thousands more, instead of remaining ignorant, lonely, and helpless, will yet be introduced to the boundless stores of human and divine knowledge, to the delights of social intercourse, to a participation in the privileges of American citizen- ship, to such practical skill in useful mechanical and commercial business, and even the higher walks of literature, science, and the fine arts, as will enable them to gain an honorable livelihood, by their own personal
* There are now twenty.
KEY. TITOS. H GALLAUDET. 415
exertions, and in fine, to all the duties and privileges of educated Christian men and women, capable not only of individual usefulness and well-being, but of adding, each, something to the stock of human happi- ness, and of subtracting something from the sum of human misery.
" But he was not only the successful teacher in a new and most difficult department of human culture, he was a wise educator in the largest acceptation of that word, the early and constant friend of the teacher in every grade of school, the guide and counselor of the young, the untiring laborer in every work of philan- thropy, the Christian gentleman, and the preemi- nently good man. And this truly great and good man was our own townsman, and neighbor, and friend. Here was the field of his useful and benevolent labors ; here stands, and will stand, the institution which he founded, and with which his name will be associated for ever. Here in our daily walks, are the men and women whom his labors have blessed; here are the children and youth, the sons and daughters of silence, and but for him, of sorrow, who have come here to this "house of mercy," which he founded — to this pool of Bethesda, whose waters will possess the virtue of healing so long as its guardians labor in his spirit ; here the beauty of his daily life fell like a blessing on the dusty turmoil of our busy and selfish pursuits.
11 From this field of his benevolent labor ; from these public charities, in whose service he spent so large a part of his life ; from his family, where he had gather- ed up his heart's best affections of an earthly sort ; from his daily round of neighborly and benevolent offices, it has pleased God to remove him by death.
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LIFE AND LABORS OF
And although the funeral obsequies have long since been performed, and the winds of winter, which ever reminded him of the claims of the poor, are now sigh- ing their requiem over his last resting-place, to which we followed him in the first month of autumn — Ave, his fellow citizens, neighbors and friends, have come to- gether to devote a brief space to the contemplation of his life, character and services. Our commemoration of such a man cannot come too late, or be renewed too often, if we go back to our various pursuits, with our faith in goodness made strong, and our aims and efforts for the welfare of our fellow-men purified and strengthened. But whatever we may do, or omit to do, for his broadly beneficent life and sublime Chris- tian virtues, the world will add one other name to its small roll of truly good men who have founded insti- tutions of beneficence, and lifted from a bowed race the burden of a terrible calamity.
" As illustrating the spirit of the man, and especi- ally the spirit of trust in God, the looking to his grace for help in all his undertakings, the following extracts are taken from a journal in which, during bis early connection with the Asylum, he was accustomed to enter, from time to time, his progress and private aspirations.
" ' Sunday, January 25, 1818. I am now surround- ed with thirty-one pupils.- Mr. Clerc has been ten days absent on a visit to Washington. During the time which has elapsed since the opening of the Asy- lum, I have had to encounter great trials. Now I am quite exhausted in health and strength. 0! that God would appear for me, and make haste to help me. If I know my own heart, I long but for one kind of
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 417
happiness, that of zealous and cheerful activity in doing good. I have of late begun to ponder a good deal on the difficulty of my continuing to be the prin- cipal of such an establishment, as this with which I am now connected will probably be. Most gladly would I hail as my superior here, and as the head of this Asylum, some one of acknowledged piety and talents, and of more force of character than myself. Alas! how is my energy gone ! How I shrink from difficul- ties! Oh Almighty God! in thy wise providence thou hast placed me in my present situation. Thou seest my heart. Thou knowest my desire is to be de- voted to thy service, and to be made the instrument of training up the deaf and dumb for heaven. 0 ! turn not a deaf ear to nry regrets. 0 ! raise me from this bodily and intellectual and religious lethargy, which has now so long prostrated all the energies and deadened the affections of my soul ! 0 ! show me clearly the path of duty, and teach me more submission to thy holy will, more self denial and humility — more penitence and perseverance ! 0 ! grant me some in- dication of thy favor and thy love. 0 ! touch the heart of my dear friend Clerc with godly sorrow for sin, and with an unfeigned reliance on Jesus Christ. O ! lead my dear pupils to the same Savior. O ! God forsake me not. Cast me not away from thy presence. Take not thy holy Spirit from me.'
" Again, a few years later, the following entry was made:
" ' As connected with the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, I do hope to feel anxious to discharge my duties in the fear of God. I invoke his grace to quali- fy me, and I renewedly consecrate myself, soul, spirit, 18*
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and body, to the service of Jesus Christ. I beseech God to guard me against all concern. (1st.) About my own temporal concerns. 0 ! may I be led to take no thought in this respect for the morrow, but to leave God to furnish me with what temporal comforts he may see best for me, and not ever form my plans for pecuniary emolument. (2ndly.) Against all undue anxiety respecting the management of the Asylum by its directors. 0 ! may I have a meek, quiet, uncom- plaining spirit with regard to all that they may do, however unwise it may seem to be according to my poor, weak, fallible judgment. May I strive each day to do all the good I can to the souls of my dear pupils, and calmly resign every thing which lies out of my own immediate sphere of duty into the hand of Him who will overrule all things, however adverse they may seem, for his own glory. (3dly.) Against all un- charitable feelings against any who are associated with me in the internal management of the Asylum. May I rather be careful to examine my own heart and con- duct, and consider how far shall I fail of doing my duty conscientiously and zealously. (4thly.) Against any regard to public opinion, while I have the appro- bation of my own conscience. (5thly.) Against the corruption of my own heart, and my daily besetting sins. 0 ! for grace to gain an entire victory over them, and to be conformed in all things to the blessed example of Jesus Christ. 0 God ! I implore the aid of thy divine Spirit to assist me in all these respects, and to thy name shall be all the glory, through Jesus Christ. Amen and Amen.'
"I presume it is safe to say that Mr. Gallaudet never rose in the morning without having in his mind
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 419
or on his hands, some extra duty of philanthropy to perform — something beyond what attached to him from his official or regular engagements. His assist- ance was asked whenever an appeal was to be made to the public, in behalf of a benevolent or religious object, which required the exercise of a cultivated in- tellect, the impulses of a benevolent heart, and the personal influence cf a character confessedly above all political and sectarian principles.
" There is scarcely an institution or movement among us, devoted to the promotion of education, or the relief of suffering humanity, which did not enjoy the benefit of his wise counsel, or receive his active co- operation.
" He was among the most earnest to call attention, in conversation, through the press, and in educational meetings, to the whole subject of female education, and especially to the more extensive employment of females as teachers. His hopes for the regeneration of society, and especially for the infusion of a more refined culture in manners and morals, into the family, and especially into common schools, rested on the influence of pious and educated women as mothers and teachers.
"In 1837, the county of Hartford, through the ex- ertions mainly of Alfred Smith, Esq., erected a prison on a plan which admitted of a classification of the prisoners, of their entire separation at night, of their employment in labor, under constant supervision, by day, and of their receiving appropriate moral and re- ligious instruction. Mr. Gallaudet sympathized warmly with this movement, and in the absence of any means at the disposal of the county commissioners to employ the services of a chaplain and religious teacher, volun-
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teered to discharge these duties without pay. He con- tinued to perform religious service every Sabbath morning for eight years, and. to visit the prison from time to time during each week, whenever he had reason to suppose his presence and prayers were par- ticularly desired. In such labors of love to the crimi- nal and neglected, unseen of men, and not known, I presume, to twenty individuals in Hartford, the genu- ine philanthropy and Christian spirit of this good man found its pleasantest fields of exercise.
" To appreciate the character and value of his services as chaplain, both in the county jail and the Eetreat, he should have been seen and heard ; and especially at the Eetreat, not only in his regular religious teach- ings on the Sabbath, and in evening worship, but in his daily visitation among the dim and erratic in soul, and his intercourse with their friends and relatives, who were sorrowing over the wreck of domestic joys and hopes. How simple and wise were his instruc- tions— how surely did his kindness open the closed doors of their affections — how like the dew distilled his words of consolation — how like the notes of David's harp on the unquiet spirit of Saul, fell the tones of his voice over those whose thoughts, it seemed but a mo- ment before, could not rest or be comforted !
" His conversational powers were remarkable, and he never failed to interest all who came into his society. To a command of language, at once simple and felici- tous, he added a stock of personal reminiscences, drawn from a large acquaintance with the best society in this country and in Europe — a quick sense of the beautiful in nature, art, literature, and morals, — a liveliness of manner — a ready use of all that he had read or seen,
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 421
and a real desire to make others happy, which made his conversation always entertaining and instructive. He was, besides, a good listener — always deferential to old and young, and could have patience even with the dull and rude. With children he was eminently suc- cessful, winning their confidence by his kind and benev- olent manner, and gaining their attention by the sim- plicity and pertinency of his remarks. He seemed in society as in the world, to make it a matter of principle 'to remember the forgotten,' and thus to draw the old and retiring into the circle of the regards and at- tention of others.
" He was methodical in the transaction of business to an extent rarely found in men of literary habits. This was partly the result of his home training, and partly of his experience in the counting room and com- mercial affairs. It was a favorite theory of his, that every boy, before entering college or a profession, should have at least one winter's experience in a store, and one summer's training on a farm.
"He was punctual in all his engagements. He thought it was neither just or Christian to make ap- pointments, and then break them on any plea of con- venience or forgetfulness.
" His benevolence was of that practical, universal, and preventive sort, that it can be followed by every body, every day, in something; and if followed by every body, and begun early, and persevered in, would change the whole aspect of society in a single genera- tion. It began with the individual, each man and woman and child, by making the individual better. It worked outward through the family state, by pre- cept and example, and above all by the formation of
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habits, in every child, before that child had become hardened into the guilty man and woman. It operated on every evil by remedies specifically adapted to meet its peculiarities. It promoted each good by agencies trained for that special work. It looked to God for his blessing, but its faith in God's blessing was made sure by its own diligent works.
u Mr. Gallaudet wras emphatically the friend of the poor and the distressed. He did not muse in solitude on human misery, but sought out its victims and did something for their relief. There was a womanly tenderness in his nature, which was touched by the voice of sorrow, whether it came from the hovel of the poor, or the mansion of the rich. His benevolence wras displayed not simply in bestowing alms, although his own contributions were neither few or small ac- cording to his means ; not simply as the judicious almoner of the bounties of others, although no man among us was more ready to solicit pecuniary sub- scriptions and contributions, (not always the most agreeable or acceptable business in the range of be- nevolent action,) or give the necessary time to the judicious application of the means thus raised; not simply by prayers, earnest and appropriate, in the home of mourning ; but by the mode and the spirit in wThich he discharged these several duties.
" The least we can do to prove ourselves worthy of possessing his name and example among the moral treasures of our city and state, is to cherish the family, the objects of his tenderest solicitude and care, which he has left behind him ; and, by some fit memorial, to hold in fresh and everlasting remembrance his deeds of beneficence to us and our posterity for ever. The
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 423
ashes of such, a man, in whose character the sublimest Christian virtues ceased to be abstractions, if his mem- ory is properly cherished, will, like the bones of the prophet, impart life to all who come in contact there- with. The ingenuous youth of our city should be led, by some memorial of our gratitude for his services, to study his life, till its beauty and spirit shall pass into their own souls, and flow out afresh in their own acts of self-denying beneficence."
One of Mr. Gallaudet's most intimate friends, whose familiar companionship of twenty years enabled him to read daily his transparent inward life — the Eev. Horace Hooker — thus speaks of the Christian ele- ment in his character :
11 Religion was so interwoven into the whole charac- ter of Mr. Gallaudet, that we can rightly estimate it only in connection with the entire web. Some men, and good men too, as Ave must regard them, appear not the same in their religious aspect as in business, or in social scenes ; but it may be truly and emphatically said of him, that his religious life was his whole life. In the expressive title of one of his own volumes, he was an every-day Christian. There was nothing fitful in his piety : it was of the same evenness and sym- metry which marked the other parts of his character. It was not a succession of oases around springs in a desert, linked together by long tracts of sandy waste ; but, fed by principle, it found its resemblance in the verdure which borders on an ever-running brook.
" His religion was beneficence, where good was to be done or kindness shown. It was honesty, exact and scrupulous, where business was to be transacted be-
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tween him and his fellow men. It was conscientious- ness, where the rights of others were involved in Lis plans or Iris acts. It was self-denial, where the wants of the poor and the unfortunate required not only an outlay of time, but solicitations sometimes painful to make, in gaining the cooperation of others. It was courtesy, where it was often difficult to reconcile the claims of an extensive acquaintance with the discharge of pressing, indispensable engagements. It was hu- mility towards God, showing itself in a deep sense of unworthiness. It was penitence, when human weak- ness yielded to temptation — penitence sincere, abiding, and fruitful, in meet works. It was cordial trust in the atonement of a divine Redeemer — not leading to carelessness, but exciting prayerful efforts to transfer the grace of that Redeemer's character to his own. It was hope — not now of noonday glare, and now of midnight gloom, but hope ever uniform and stedfast, though sometimes bedimmed with a passing cloud. It was joy, not buoyant, like that of the new born soul, or triumphant, like that of the martyr. ISTo one acquainted with his mental characteristics, his habitual moderation, his almost excessive caution, his keen in- sight into character, his close scrutiny of his feelings, would look in his bosom for joys like these. But to joy such as flows from beneficent acts, such as the peace of God imparts to the contrite spirit, such as a hope of casting off human weakness, and mingling, through grace, among the sanctified in Christ Jesus in a higher life, inspires, to such joy he was no stranger. " He had a deep reverence for the sacred Scriptures, and exalted views of their influence in controlling and purifying the human mind. As an instrument of
REV. TITOS. H. GALLAUDET. 425
government in the family, and in society, no one held them in higher estimation. His religions sentiments were those commonly denominated Evangelical. He loved to regard the truths of the Gospel in their sim- plicity ; and though as capable as most amongst us of metaphysical speculations, in which he would some- times indulge in conversation with his intimate friends, he fell back on the Bible in its obvious meaning for the support of his hope and his quickening in the religious life. Though a firm believer in the necessity of supernatural aid to train man for heaven, he ever urged the serious, regular, prayerful observance of divine institutions and means of moral improvement. On the moulding power of these he relied for forming the Christian character, rather than on any measures of mere human devising.
"Both from principle and native temperament, he was charitable in his estimate of the opinion of others ; but when the occasion demanded, he was ready cour- teously and firmly to defend his own. The respect with which he was regarded by the religious of every name, shows that this striking trait of his character was duly appreciated.
"To an unusual extent, he associated this world, its scenes, its occupations, its influences, with a future existence ; regarding the habits, both intellectual and moral, which we form on earth, as entering with us into that state. lNim omnis moriarj all of me will not die, was an unfailing quickener of his zeal in pre- paring to perform in another life an agency of benevo- lence, pure, ceaseless, self- satisfying, eternal. And who can doubt, that in some part of God's wide em- pire, his happy spirit is now ministering to 'them
426 LIFE AND LABOES OF
who shall be heirs of salvation,' or planning schemes of beneficence, which earth's intellect cannot conceive, or earth's resources execute ? "
I am permitted, by the kindness of Dr. Peet, the distinguished President of the New York Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb, to make one or two extracts from the eloquent tribute prepared by him at the request of the Directors of that asylum.
" The wisdom of Mr. Grallaudet is strikingly shown by the high ground on which he placed his school at the outset. Many of the European charitable institu- tions for deaf mutes had begun on the scale of an establishment for paupers, making it impossible, in most cases, to secure teachers of talent and education, by which, indeed, the same amount of funds was made to serve for the relief of a much greater number of objects, but the actual benefit to each was diminished in a still greater proportion.
" The founders of the Asylum at Hartford took the juster and wiser view, that the interests of the deaf and dumb in both worlds were too high to be entrusted to any but men of superior character and intellect, and that the appointments of the Asylum should be such as to make it a pleasant home, and not a sort of prison for American youth. They began, therefore, by making it a boarding school of the better class, making no distinction between their pupils, and the event has amply justified their course. Many indigent and de- serving pupils were necessarily excluded at first for want of means, but legislative bodies soon assumed the patronage of these, and, in the end, all enjoyed a much more thorough and beneficial education than
REV. THOS. II. GALLAUDET. 427
if the charity of the first founders of the institution had been diluted to make it reach further.
"The system of instruction, derived from that of Sicard, was still greatly modified and improved by his own judgment and experience, especially in omit- ting many of those syntactic processes, once admitted, but now condemned on all hands as at least unneces- sary. He was indeed happy in the uncommon capacity of some of his earlier pupils, and in the ability of most of his early associates ; but then he developed the former, and chose the latter. The fact, that all the schools for the deaf and dumb founded in this country for many years, either at the outset obtained teachers qualified under his care, or, if they started on a dif- ferent method, were soon constrained, by public opin- ion, to apply to his school for teachers, evinces a pre- vailing belief in the excellence of his system, due, not less to the moral and religious tone of his school, than to the superiority of its intellectual results.
"As a teacher, Mr. Gallaudet was mainly distin- guished for the clearness and perspicuity with which he could unfold even complex and elevated ideas in pantomime intelligible to the youngest and dullest of his pupils. Even the particles, and grammatical in- flections of language, which so much embarrass an ordinary teacher, acquired clearness and significance in his signs; and this facility led him to disregard regularity of method in introducing the difhculties of language to a greater degree than less gifted teachers would find safe. But it was in his religious lessons that his power was most manifested. First of all teachers of the deaf and dumb, he established for his pupils the regular worship of God, including prayer,
428 LIFE AND LABORS OF
praise, instruction, and exhortation, in the only lan- guage which can be made intelligible to the mass of an assembly of deaf mutes — the only language, also, which, even with well educated deaf mutes, goes most directly to the understanding, the conscience, and the heart. And the greatest triumph of his method was in the clearness with which he could unfold, to pupils of a few weeks' standing, the new and startling ideas of immaterial existence, Grod and immortality.
"For thirteen of the last years of his life, Mr. Gal- laudet found a congenial and appropriate field for his unwearied benevolence, as Chaplain of the Hartford Retreat for the Insane. The religious influences which he had, to a greater degree than any previous teacher, been enabled to wield in softening the hearts, quelling the evil passions, and expanding at once the intellect and affections of the most wild and uncultivated among the deaf and dumb, he now sought to exercise for the benefit of the yet more wretched victims of insanity; and the result showed, that even where all the powers of reason are wrecked, religious feelings can still be awakened, to minister balm to a mind diseased, and soothe into solemn stillness the wild passions of an assembly of maniacs.
" Not the least interesting circumstance of his life was his marriage to a deaf mute young lady, who had been one of his earliest pupils. This lady, perhaps the first deaf mute who became the chosen companion of a man of intellect and superior education, approved herself well worthy of his choice, and, by her pleas- ing manners and exemplary life and walk, not less than by the sons and daughters she reared, who, hap- pily exempt from their mother's calamity, inherited
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 429
the best traits of their father's character, has contribu- ted, in no small degree, to give interest and dignity, and brighter prospects in life, to her once smitten companions in misfortune.
11 The ruling traits ox Mr. Grallaudet's character were deep piety and sincere benevolence. But his religion was not a religion of forms and ceremonies ; and, though a Congregationalist himself, he was yet ever ready cordially to unite with men of other de- nominations in all measures tending to the advancement of human happiness and the Redeemer's kingdom.
" Courteous in his manners, and possessing conver- sational powers of a high order, his social influence was great, and his personal friends many and warm.
" To sum up this brief and imperfect sketch of his character, by measuring it by the standard of his greatest achievement, the cause of deaf mute education in this country owes its rapid advancement, and the early and firm hold it has taken on public sympathy, in no small measure to the lofty disinterestedness, and the moral elevation which he gave to every enterprise in which he took part, doing every thing so evidently and solely for the glory of God, and in love to all men."
Some of the characteristics of our lamented friend are well expressed in the following extract from an article in "The Christian Examiner," of July, 1852:
" There are two or three points of Mr. Gallaudet's character on which we cannot forbear dwelling awhile; and as the first, because at the root of his varied excel- lence, we mention his religious faith.
"There are those, doubtless, to whom this phrase
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brings only vague images, and intimates most uncer- tain results. But not if the thing it signifies were a solid substance before the eye, or a ball of lead within the hand, could it be a more palpable reality than as it appeared in Mr. Gallaudet's character. It was the pulsation of his heart. It was the inspiration of his life. We have never known one who cast himself with a more grateful and joyous trust into a reliance on the Creator's will. Among the manifest facts of his daily experience, which shaped his judgment, affected his sensibilities, determined his conduct, the fact of an overruling Providence was real and decisive ; not theo- retically established, but instinctively felt. His doc- trinal opinions were orthodox, and not only this, but thoroughly and rigidly orthodox ; of a stamp too in- flexible, perhaps, for the full approval of what is some- times called the New England school of Evangelical- ism. Yet, strange to say, this strict theology was, in Mr. Gallaudet, divorced from almost, if not quite, all those accompaniments so repulsive to minds and hearts trained under a more liberal system of Scripture inter- pretation. We have said, this is strange; for, in the instance of our revered friend, his doctrinal views were not loosely held, or lightly prized, or believed to be other than vitally operative. He never said and he never felt, that it is no matter what a man believes, provided he is sincere ; that common cant of spurious liberalism. So that the unwriokled beauty, the unem- bittered sweetness of his Christian character and affec- tions, are not due to the fact, that he was indifferent to the 'saving doctrines' of the Gospel.
"Mr. Gallaudet's religion lay, not in the forms of his faith, but below them. They constituted the espalier
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 431
upon which his devout instincts climbed upwards ; but the root of his religion lay in the soul, not the intellect; and its nourishment came not from the artificial trellis work of church decrees, but from the soil of the New Testament truth. ' By their fruits shall ye know them,' was a favorite text with him, and it furnished the canon by which he estimated personal worth, and the value of private belief.
"Another feature of Mr. Gallaudet's character, and one which requires to be distinctly set forth, was his benevolence. If the history of much of the nominally benevolent action and public service of men were read in the light of the Divine judgment, we fear that a sad adulteration of reputedly Christian motives would ap- pear. If, among the mainsprings of our nature, that coil, a desire of human applause, a regard for the esti- mation of the world, should lose its temper and exert no further force upon individual effort, what a prodig- ious collapse would there be in services for private or public good ! If the hope of pecuniary recompense were stricken from among the inducements to philan- thropic action, how many humane efforts would be abandoned ! If there were no such operative sentiment as a desire to 'be somebody,1 in some sort of work, or to find scope for one's energies in a sphere not repug- nant to one's kindly impulses, and not over crowded with competitors, the field of benevolent action would be still further and materially abridged.
" Necessarily, the directions of the benevolence of a man so sagacious and so experienced as Mr. Gallaudet, were manifold, and the occasions of its exercise were constant. The great work of popular education enlist- ed all his sympathies, and the aid of all his powers.
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With the author of the l- Theory of Human Progres- sion,' he believed that 'knowledge,' including, of course, moral and religious knowledge, ' is the only means given to man to evolve correct action, and that correct action is the only means whereby man can evolve a correct, and consequently beneficial condition.' Normal schools engaged his early and constant attention. Home train- ing, alleviation of the condition of the insane, lyceums and institutes for young men, female seminaries, relig- ious instruction of the West, peace, African coloniza- tion, treatment of criminals, were subjects on which he wrote, counseled, and labored with effect. In short, there was no subject of valuable reform to which he did not direct his mind, and on which he did not shed light. He was not, in the strict sense of the word, a reformer. But if he lacked the reformer's aggressive energy, he possessed the wisdom and the flexibleness of method and of philanthropy, without which the work of reformation comes nearer being the tornado of passion than the purifying breeze of humane endeavor. "In an unnoticed way, Mr. Gallaudet dispensed con- stant and invaluable charities ; those that show most effectually the undying root of genuine benevolence. He visited in person the poor and the suffering. He sat by the bedside of the sick and dying ; and this not in a parish, by contract, not in the routine of paid duty, but as called by the necessities of his fellow creatures. One said truly of him, that ' he could not walk the length of Main Street without doing some good, by word or act, to some being, young or old.' In fine, Mr. Gallaudet's benevolence was a quality never to be put on or taken off, for it was of the man; or rather, the man was of it.
REV. TIIOS. IT. GALLAUDET. 433
" We cannot but feel, if our estimate thus far of the character of this remarkable person be true, that in him the spirit of the two commandments on which Christ hung 'all the law and the prophets,' found a beautiful realization.
" We suppose the world would withhold from the subject of these remarks the position and repute of a 'great man.' Yet to be classed with Oberlin, and Vincent de Paul, and Clarkson, and Howard, and Tuckerman, is a distinction of which few certainly are worthy. In that company, however, is Mr. Gallaudet's place. In certain qualities of intellect he had no superior. His judgment in practical affairs possessed the accuracy of almost supernatural insight. When he had once investigated a subject of this character, little more remained to be discovered on the same side. This sagacity was the result of his candor, which en- abled him to do justice to the objector's position ; of his fidelity, which permitted him to slight no work when once before him to be done ; of his power of continuous attention, which precluded the possibility of any part of the subject, whether in its present rela- tions or its probable issues, eluding his scrutiny ; and of his habit of applying to this examinations the sys- tamatized fruits of his experience. We regard his style in writing as almost faultless. It possessed the high charm of showing itself the instrument of truth, not of him who held the pen. What he wrote an- swered its end, in arresting attention and producing conviction.
"Mr. Gallaudet has gone to his reward. The rich and the poor mourned his departure. All sects ren- dered to his mortal remains the tribute of their grief, 19
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and to his memory they render the tribute of their reverence."
His fitness and success, as chaplain to the insane, are well stated by Dr. Butler, of the Hartford Retreat, in one of his annual reports.
" This field of labor was admirably adapted to call into exercise the peculiar characteristics of Mr. Gal- laudet, and all these found ample scope for their full development among the ever varying peculiarities of our family.
" His equanimity and calmness checked the unduly excited ; his suavity and quiet dignity calmed the tur- bulent; his kindness, cheerfulness, and wit, with his ready repartee, cheered and amused the desponding, while his rare conversational powers, and his fund of anecdote, and of general and useful knowledge, made him the welcome companion of all.
" His aptness of illustration, the happy manner in which he applied practical religious truth to the vary- ing circumstances of the different patients, together with his quick perception of individual peculiarities, gave him ready access to every mind, especially to that class of religious monomaniacs who are difficult of approach, and whose minds appear most obstinately closed against right and natural views.
"All his efforts were directly illustrative of those two great commandments of the law, love to God and love to our fellow men, which were ever the prominent principles of his religious teachings, both in the chapel and in his social intercourse. At the bedside of the sick he was ever a ready and welcome visitor, and to those who were mourning over the loss of the life or
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 435
of the reason of their friends, he came as the sym- pathizing comforter.
" He had a ready word of consolation and of hope to those who were leaving their friends at the Eetreat, and of wise counsel and admonition to those who were passing from our care.
" The aim of his daily life was to do good. His whole warm heart was in his work, and he did that work well. He seemed to bring sunlight with him into our household, and he left its cheering influence in every heart.
" He sympathized with me in my plans for the ad- vancement of the institution, the extension of its in- fluence, and the relief and improvement of its inmates. He felt the truth, often the topic of our conversation, and often expressed it to others, that there is much yet to learn with regard to the physical, intellectual, and moral condition of the insane, and of the nature of those causes of insanity which are in active operation around us ; and that there is yet much to do in ascer- taining and applying all the available means of pre- vention, alleviation, and cure.
" He lamented the indifference of the public mind on these great subjects, and neglected no opportunity of endeavoring to excite in others that sense of their im- portance which he had derived from his observations at the Eetreat."
The following letter from Dr. E. K. Hunt, to one of the sons of Mr. Gallaudet, will fitly close these loving, but well merited tributes.
" Dear Sir, — In compliance with your request, that I should furnish you briefly such recollections of your
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]ate honored father as a somewhat intimate acquain- tance with him for several years during the later por- tion of his life afforded, I shall refer only to a few of those more marked characteristics that especially struck me, and produced a lasting effect upon my mind.
" I remember well the first time I ever saw him, and the impression his manners and conversation then, though I did not learn until afterwards that it was Mr. Gallaudet, made upon my mind. It was on a pleasant morning in the fall of 1839, that, a stranger, I was standing in the hall of the Retreat for the Insane, waiting for an interview with the physician to the in- stitution. Some of the more quiet of the male patients were also there, engaged in conversation, when a small man, of a quite unassuming, yet gentlemanly bearing, entered, and was recognized and cordially welcomed by the patients as a familiar acquaintance and friend.
" Of what transpired in particular I have no definite recollection, and only remember, as I do distinctly, that uncommon ease and kindness of manner ; a quiet, yet animated and interesting address ; a quick, clear, and active, as well as a highly cultivated mind, char- acterized the interview, on the part of the gentleman in question.
"A prolonged acquaintance led me to remark, as a leading trait in his character, a world-wide philan- thropy and benevolence of heart. Nor did it by any means limit itself solely to the spiritual well-being of man, but to man as he is, made up of a body as well as soul, the one continually and powerfully affecting the other, and demanding at all times an appreciation of this great truth, correctly to reason in relation to his mental and moral manifestations, whether in sick-
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 437
ness or in health, as a savage or civilized man ; a crea- ture to be trained to act his part effectively upon the stage of life, and, at the same time, most certainly to attain to that great end of our being, peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
" This, doubtless, constituted the groundwork of that charity which was another feature of his character, and enabled him, beyond any man I ever saw, to exemplify in his daily life this, the chief of the Chris- tian graces.
" Another feature of his character, that a continued and close acquaintance brought prominently to my notice, was his ever present sense of accountability to God, as illustrated in the scope and tenor of his conver- sation. Though eminently cheerful, and appreciating the humorous and mirthful, perhaps even more than a majority of people, still the momentous thought, that i for every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment,' seemed to stand out, as if written in letters of light, continually before his mind. I know not that I ever spent five minutes with him in meaningless and un- profitable conversation. It was one of his great excel- lencies that he both knew how, and had the disposi tion always to render an interview, however short, both agreeable and useful.
" Growing out of these leading traits, were a multi- tude of minor virtues, which I love to dwell upon, while I weep over the loss society sustained in the death of their possessor. One of the subjects on which Mr. Gallaudet used often to speak, and dwell with spe- cial interest — perhaps because lie thought it would be more acceptable to me as a physician, than most other
438 LIFE AND LABORS OF
topics — was that of the physical training and educa- tion of the young. And on this subject, I am greatly mistaken if his views were not profoundly philosoph- ical and correct. He highly estimated — but to that degree only which it justly merits — the vast import- ance of physical culture, not as a mere political ques- tion, but as it stands related to the intellectual and moral part of our nature. No system of training sat- isfied him that did not equally comprehend in its pur- pose and results the proper exercise, development, and culture of these several and preponderating elements of the man. To give any one of them an ascendency over the others was, to his mind, a sad and lamentable defect, as he saw in it, as an inevitable consequence, a future character distorted, and but imperfectly qual- ified for the proper discharge of the duties of life. And his opinion of its importance related quite as much to the female sex as our own. In the round of woman's duties, he clearly saw the need of a sound, well-balanced physical organization, and no perfection of accomplishments, so called, nor degree of moral excellence, could satisfactorily atone for any essential deficiency in this respect.
"Hence resulted his high, yet by no means unrea- sonable estimate of the importance of pure air and sun light ; of spacious and well ventilated school rooms ; and of all places, indeed, designed for public assem- blies whatever their special object, and his frequent and eloquent discourses upon this great theme. His own health, and susceptible lungs, as affected by these agents, as well as thousands of other sufferers, from like causes, who are constantly under the observation of physicians, equally attested the soundness of his
REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET. 439
arguments, and the wisdom as well as need of his oft- repeated suggestions.
u Hence, also, his profound sorrow whenever he ob- served, as he could not sometimes fail to do, the phys- ical well-being of the young, particularly of girls, sac- rificed through a misplaced endeavor to secure high moral and intellectual attainments without reference to the bodily health, and too often at the cost of its serious, if not permanent injury.
"In a word, as I have before intimated, he under- stood better than most men, the laws which Infinite Wisdom has set over the organization of man, and the mutual reactions of its several parts ; and was also keenly alive to its due and harmonious development. He knew, indeed, no completeness, either moral or intellectual, aside from a sound bodily constitution.
" Of his intellectual character, and of him as a scholar and Christian teacher, it is not my province to speak, neither of him as the pioneer in the great work of deaf mute instruction in this country, and the foun- der of the American Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, which itself insures him a high and enduring fame, nor yet his remarkable adaptedness, as I had every opportunity to know — for the position which he long held, as Chaplain of the Eetreat ; where, as my acquaint- ance with him accidentally began, it was my peculiar privilege to extend it, until it grew into the ripeness and strength of a lasting friendship, and a reverence on my part, for the many shining virtues which his everyday life exhibited.
" Yours, very truly,
"E. K. HUNT.
" Mr. Edward Gallaudet, Hartford, May, 1857."
440 LIFE OF REV. THOS. H. GALLAUDET.
"With this letter, I close this imperfect record. I pass from the contemplation of the life and character of this good man, with a feeling like that with which I have sometimes descended from a noble eminence, turning with reluctance from some scene of surpassing beauty, but bearing away in my heart its lovely image, that seemed for many days to reflect an unwonted grace upon the more familiar and unattractive scenes, amid which my humble duties were performed. This common life itself seems ennobled, its uses worthier, its purposes grander, its poor earthly labors capable even of immortal fruits, as we see what has been attempted and what accomplished by one pure minded, great hearted, Christian Philanthropist